TVIRD gets MGB approval for 2nd social dev’t plan

08/29/2008



Strong IP support key to gov’t nod

Buoyed by the full support of its host indigenous people (IP) community, TVI Resource Development Phils., Inc. (TVIRD) has secured the approval of its second 5-year Social Development Management Program (SDMP) from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), thus marking the company’s full compliance with the regulatory requirements for the community aspect of TVIRD’s Sulphide Project. The approval came after an intensive 6-hour technical conference and deliberation at the MGB Region IX office in Zamboanga City, which was attended by leaders of the Subanon ancestral domain title holders of Canatuan in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte, and by officials and staff of TVIRD.

Feliece Yeban, TVIRD vice president for Social Commitments (facing camera), clarifies salient details of the SDMP with Zamboanga del Norte Provincial Environment and Development Office action officer Marcelino Gargar (in green): “We thank all the leaders and residents who warmly welcomed us in their communities; who listened to what we had to say; and who provided invaluable inputs to the SDMP document.”

“After evaluating the draft of the company’s new five-year SDMP, the evaluators found it to have complied with all the requirements as mandated in DENR-MGB Department Administrative Order 2004-54, Section 136,” MGB Region IX Director Jessica Lucero said. “We do not approve SDMPs without having them go though a stringent validation process by the Technical Working Group that includes Subanon leaders.”

“The deciding factor for the approval of the SDMP was the involvement and strong support of the Subanons during the drafting and technical conference,” Jack Soriano, MGB Division chief for Environment and Safety, commented. The evaluation and validation of SDMPs fall under his unit and, having witnessed the drafting of TVIRD’s SDMP himself, Soriano is convinced that the company followed the correct process every step of the way.

Thess Limpin, TVIRD CReDO manager, fields questions from Subanon leaders. A total of 50 sitios in one host and 10 impact barangays composed of Subanons, Moslems, Christians, and mixed-culture peoples are listed as beneficiaries of the company’s second 5-year SDMP.

The TVIRD team – headed by Feliece Yeban, vice president for Social Commitments; and by Thess Limpin, manager for Community Relations and Development Office (CReDO) – presented the details of the SMDP during the deliberations amid extensive inquiries and points of clarification from MGB senior geologist and SDMP evaluator Ceferino dela Cruz and from officers of the Subanon Siocon Association, Inc. (SSAI) and the tribal Council of Elders.

“We needed to clarify some issues so we could also explain to our Subanon brothers and sisters if they have questions about the new SDMP,” SSAI president Bonifacio Patoh explained. “We salute the officials of TVIRD for their patience in walking us through the details of the Program.” SSAI, composed of some 2,000 IP members, is the legal representative of the Canatuan Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) owners.

The new SDMP was drawn up with the participation of residents from TVIRD’s host and impact communities – those who will be affected by the Sulphide Project, the second phase of the company’s operations in Canatuan – during a thorough Information-Education-Communication campaign and consultations earlier this year
(please see related story “A message of development – for Muslim and Christian communities alike” here) The draft SDMP was presented to leaders of these communities in Consolidation and Validation conferences held separately for the Canatuan CADT holders who constitute the company’s direct impact community, and for secondary impact communities
(Please see related story “Towards a sustainable symbiosis” here

“The completion and subsequent approval of the SDMP would not have been possible if not for the men and women from the different departments of TVIRD who worked tirelessly and selflessly to ensure that our stakeholder communities are well informed and involved during the drafting process,” Yeban pointed out. “We thank all the leaders and residents who warmly welcomed us in their communities; who listened to what we had to say; and who provided invaluable inputs to the SDMP document. We are as excited as they are to see the implementation of the social development projects that they helped identify and which will be realized once our copper-zinc project gets underway later this year.”

Above, Jack Soriano (middle) MGB Division chief for Environment and Safety stresses a point during the SDMP validation: “The deciding factor for the approval of the SDMP was the involvement and strong support of the Subanons during the drafting and technical conference.” Below, MGB, SSAI, and TVIRD officials discuss fine points of the SDMP document: “We do not approve SDMPs without having them go though a stringent validation process by the Technical Working Group that includes Subanon leaders.”

For the second 5-year SDMP, a total of 50 sitios (community districts) in one host and 10 impact barangays (smallest political unit in the Philippines) composed of Subanons, Moslems, Christians, and mixed-culture peoples are listed as beneficiaries. The SDMP will serve as the company’s guidebook as it continues to support the welfare of the people in its immediate and secondary affected communities. Moreover, the SDMP document will provide the framework for the programs and projects the company will continue to do for its host and impact communities in the areas of livelihood, basic services, health and environmental safety, socio-economic enhancement and sustainability during and beyond the mine life.

TVIRD’s first 5-year SDMP, prepared during the company’s gold-silver (Gossan) production phase beginning in mid-2004, is still being implemented despite the fact that this phase had ended in April this year. The Sulphide Project is expected to commence operations within the last quarter of 2008. (Rene Patangan)