MANILA, Philippines — Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Loyzaga on Wednesday said that the presence of Chinese and other foreigners in illegal mining in the Philippines was "a very great possibility."

Loyzaga issued the statement after authorities arrested 11 Chinese over the weekend for working in an illegal mining site in Paracale, Camarines Norte while having only tourist visas

"I believe the presence of foreigners is a very great possibility, yes," Loyzaga said during a press conference in Malacañang.

Loyzaga said that this was not the first time that some foreigners were found conducting illegal mining operations in the country.

"As you know, I think it was last year, we also apprehended, together with authorities, an operation in the border of, I think, it was Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in the upland areas that had foreign workers also conducting, yes, illegal activities," she said.

Aside from the presence of illegal foreign workers, Loyzaga also mentioned that the Paracale mine had been found operating beyond the area where it was permitted.

"On the potential criminal charges, I will not go into that because the case build-up is ongoing. What we know is that in fact, this operation has a history," Loyzaga said.

"And in 2023, we also know that they had completed their permitting requirements and had been permitted to operate. However, now, they have been found to have been operating also beyond the area where they have been permitted to operate. And, of course, there is the presence of foreign workers," she added.

Loyzaga said that case buildup was ongoing with regard to those involved in the alleged illegal mining operation in Paracale.

"We are doing case buildup now, together with other authorities, other agencies. This is a small-scale mining processing operation. So, as you know, in terms of the small-scale operations, there's a heavy local government and local community component," she said.

Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) spokesman Winston Casio said the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) has closed off the area.

"We need to request for them to look into the purpose of the extraction plant," he said.

Casio said the company has the necessary environmental compliance certificate to operate, but it has expanded beyond the coverage of the license.

The arrested Chinese have undergone inquest proceedings for immigration violations.

Casio said they were also investigating a local politician who may be the Chinese's business partner.

He said the politician hired two of the foreigners as business financiers while the rest were hired as technical experts and workers for the mineral processing plant.

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