AN official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Tuesday urged the government to look into the possible liability of Benguet Corp. in the mining site tragedy in Itogon, Benguet, during the weekend.
CBCP-National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice, and Peace Executive Secretary Fr. Edwin Gariguez alleged that Benguet Corp. outsourced its operations to small-scale miners to get around the suspension order of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The DENR ordered the closure of the Benguet Corp. last year until it could comply with the necessary environmental and safety standards.
“The area was supposed to be fully rehabilitated but Benguet Corp. allegedly have subcontracted small miners to continue operation,” Gariguez said in a news statement issued on Tuesday.
“We need to make mining companies accountable. Justice means reparation for the damages,” he added.
Gariguez said Benguet Corp. has made the town vulnerable to the landslide because of its “destructive mining” over the years.
On Monday Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu revoked the 10 temporary small-scale mining contracts issued in Itogon.
This after a landslide brought about by Typhoon Ompong buried old bunkhouses used by Benguet Corp. last Saturday killing 35 people.
Authorities are still looking for 40 others who were also buried in the landslide.
Gariguez supported the latest initiative of Cimatu and urged him to extend the stricter mining measure to other parts of the country.
“The DENR should also take enforcement seriously to avoid disasters of this kind from happening anywhere in the Philippines,” Gariguez said.
Aid for the displaced
The labor department, meanwhile, assured that almost 12,800 workers displaced by Typhoon Ompong in the Cagayan Valley region will soon get assistance.
Department of Labor and Employment Region 2 Director Sarah S. Mirasol said they already started profiling qualified beneficiaries for their Tulong Pangkabuhayan sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (Tupad).
“The provinces with affected workers will work on the profiling of the beneficiaries starting September 18, 2018,” Mirasol said.
She said they have already allocated over P44 million to provide temporary emergency employment to typhoon victims in the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Batanes and Tuguegarao City.
Isabela has the highest budget allocation with P20 million followed by Cagayan (P15 million) and Batanes (P4 million).
Quirino and Tuguegarao Cities will get P2 million each, while Nueva Vizcaya has the least with only a million.
Selected beneficiaries of Tupad will be given 10-day work, which will involve clearing and repairing operations in their communities. They will be paid P340 per day.
Mirasol said their assistance will be separate from the intervention of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), which caters for families of overseas Filipino workers, who were affected by Typhoon Ompong.
The OWWA earlier announced it has an available fund of P100 million for the program.
Cagayan Valley was among the regions in Luzon, which were battered by Typhoon Ompong during the weekend. It left 74 fatalities as of yesterday and thousand of others, who were displaced.