AS soon as Typhoon “Odette” made landfall and devastated Visayas and Mindanao on December 16, mining companies have started to deploy rescue and relief teams in typhoon-affected areas to help affected communities.
From providing clean water and food packages, to construction materials needed for those who lost their homes to helping those who needed immediate medical care, miners from different companies belonging to the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) rushed to communities from their respective areas of operation to give the victims the much-needed boost.
Environmental groups continue to blame mining for the environmental destruction caused by mining, which they say, aggravates the adverse environmental impact of extreme weather events like typhoons, floods, and landslides that often lead to disaster.
The devastation caused by Odette last December happened just a few days after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) lifted the ban on open-pit mining method, an environmental policy put in place by former DENR Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez in 2017. President Duterte had also recently signed Executive Order 130 which lifted the moratorium in the processing of new mining projects in the Philippines that was put in place by former President Aquino’s Executive Order 79.
In the Caraga Region, Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) affiliate Taganito HPAL Corp. (THPAL) distributed food packs and rice to families and evacuees from barangays Urbiztondo and Taganito, as well as construction materials for some 3,600 families from the firm’s host town of Claver in Surigao del Norte.
Partial data provided by Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Caraga Regional Director Larry Heradez revealed that THPAL’s contribution alone cost some P13 million.
In Luzon, Philex Mining Corp., for its part, gave financial assistance to the Philippine Disaster Resiliency Foundation and the One Meralco Foundation for use in the MVP Group Tulong Kapatid Odette response efforts.
Part of the assistance would be for the purchase of shelter and building materials for local government units in Surigao del Norte that were badly hit by Odette. The company also conducted an employees’ donation drive as well as offered its generator set at its Silangan Mindanao Mining Co. Inc. Project site in Barangay Timamana, Tubod, also in Surigao del Norte, for free charging of mobile phones and other communications devices.
“Member-firms of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines [COMP] also provide many unquantifiable efforts that are equally valuable in times of disaster, such as the quick response of Emergency Response Teams, the use of company equipment in the clearing efforts, and manpower resources,” said COMP Chairman Mike Toledo.
As in other past typhoons like Yolanda, Ondoy, and Sendong, as well as the big earthquakes in Mindanao in 2017, and Luzon in 1990, Toledo said Filipino miners have shown dedication in helping communities devastated by Odette.
Carmen Copper Corp. employees, for its part, delivered food packs—amid toppled electric posts and uprooted trees—to more than 100 residents of Barangay Cantabaco, Toledo City in battered Cebu Province while Odette was making landfall in Carcar City, some 37 kilometers south.
Carmen Copper prioritized the distribution of basic necessities, such as food and water, to affected communities. Bulk containers were set up at key areas within the mine compound to provide nearby residents domestic water for free.
This was augmented by water trucks making rounds to reach more individuals, especially in the hinterlands. As of December 31, more than 100,000 liters of domestic water as well as 20,000 pieces of relief goods have been distributed to Carmen Copper’s 17 host and neighboring communities.
Meanwhile, almost 12,000 households benefited from the joint relief operation conducted by TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc., Agata Mining Ventures Inc., Greenstone Resources Corp. and the Villar Sipag Foundation. The initiative was launched a day after Odette hit the two Surigao provinces and Dinagat Islands. Employees of the three companies immediately packed and distributed rice, canned goods and noodles to the typhoon victims.
The P7-million relief effort covered eight host and neighboring barangays of Agata in Agusan del Norte: Binuangan, Tinigbasan, Tagpangahoy, Lawigan, E. Morgado, Tagbuyacan, Colorado and La Paz. A total of 3,163 households in the area received assistance. The operation likewise benefited the host and nearby communities of Greenstone in the town of Tubod. Some 4,830 food packs were distributed to the typhoon victims, while another 3,400 were given to affected households in Surigao and Dinagat Islands.
NAC subsidiaries Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp. (RTN) in Palawan, Cagdianao Mining Corp. (CMC) in Dinagat Islands, as well as Taganito Mining Corp. and Hinatuan Mining Corp. both in Surigao del Norte provided victims in host and neighboring communities a total of nearly 14,000 sacks of rice, and some 10,000 food packs. RTN and CMC also donated materials for temporary shelter, even as the latter made available a doctor and distributed over 5,000 kilograms of chicken and pork meat and water purifiers to victims. HMC also provided medicines for gastroenteritis.
“So far, our relief has cost P40 million—and counting,” said JB Baylon, NAC vice president for Communications. “Going forward, there will be more rebuilding and repairs to be done in the communities and the islands, such as Siargao, which NAC will be committed to.”
Carrascal Nickel Corp. donated P5.5 million in cash to the MGB Central Office. Platinum Group Metals, Inc. provided 5,000 sacks of rice to communities in Surigao del Norte, including Siargao Island. Pacific Nickel Phils. Inc distributed 1,300 food packs to residents of barangays Talisay and Cantiasay, as well as employees and contractors who also fell victim to Odette.