ZAMBALES, Philippines – Four Japanese treasure hunters and their thirteen Filipinos were arrested thursday, May 31, for hunting unauthorized treasures on Capones Island in Barangay Pundakit, San Antonio.
Chief Inspector Jonathan Bardaje, head of the San Antonio Police Office, known to suspects as Domyo Ukari, 56, of Kagoshima, Japan; Shinchi Kawano, 44, de Kanagawa; Mori Eizo, 60, from Tokyo; and a 15-year-old Japanese boy from Saitama.
Filipinos are Lloyd Marlo Cerezo, Arnold Algiers, Rexy Maycong, Rodrigo Castro, Luis Cerezo, Lymar Cerezo, Reggie Maycong, Noel Flores, Jason Ebalane, Gregorio Domingo, Effer Tolentino, Espiridon Gumacao and Ronald Gonzales.
Bardaje indicated that at approximately 5 a. m. on Thursday, May 31, a joint operation was mobilized through the San Antonio MPS, the 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company (PfALES PFMC) and the Municipal Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (MDRRMO) to learn about illegal mining on capones Island.
Authorities arrived at the site around 6:30 a. m. and caught one of the suspects digging in the west of the island, about 50 meters southeast of the lighthouse, trapped by government personnel.
Bardaje said that because of the intensity of the tunnel, about 16 feet deep, he thought the suspects had been operating on the rocky island for more than a month.
Police confided in a compressor, generator, two steel detectors, a pneumatic hammer and a variety of suspect mining devices.
All suspects, the minor, were arrested at San Antonio police station on charges of illegal mining, intentional mischief and violation of the municipal ordinance relating to the Marine Protected Area.
San Antonio Deputy Mayor Lugil Ragadio said Capones Island, declared a marine domain protected by municipal ordinance 12-056 of February 13, 2012, is one of the most sensitive tourist destinations in the province, especially in the summer season.
In an interview with the media, one of the Filipino suspects admitted that they were conducting a treasure hunt in the region and that their Japanese employers paid them 1,000 P a day.
Under Philippine law, others who wish to interact in treasure hunting must download a permit from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) . – Rappler. com