3 mayors express strong support for Sulphide Project
TVI Resource Development Philippines, Inc. (TVIRD) has made significant, positive
changes in the lives of the people impacted by its operations, especially the Subanon
indigenous people. The company’s far-reaching socio-economic and environmental
protection initiatives for its hosts have gained the approval of leaders of
these communities.
Among those leaders are the mayors of the three towns affected
by TVIRD’s activities in this remote mountain village in Zamboanga del
Norte – Ceasar Soriano of Siocon and Gani Esmali of Baliguian, both in
this province, as well as Danilo Piodena of R.T. Lim in adjacent Zamboanga Sibugay.
Fully convinced that responsible mining is happening in Canatuan, these local
executives have expressed their full support for the Sulphide (Copper-Zinc)
Project, the second phase of TVIRD’s operations here.
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(Left
to right) Mayor Gani Esmali of Baliguian, Mayor Ceasar Soriano of Siocon, and Mayor Danilo Piodena of R.T. Lim. All fully support TVIRD’s Sulphide Project. |
“On a 10-point scale, I give TVIRD a rating of 9 for
a mining company that has satisfactorily complied with all the legal requirements
on environmental protection, social acceptability, as well as socio-economic
programs and projects for my town,” Soriano, chief executive of TVIRD’s
host municipality, said. “The company has contributed much to Siocon’s
economic development, as one can clearly see from TVIRD’s various community
projects that have benefited my people.” Canatuan is a sitio within Barangay
Tabayo in Siocon.
Esmali, on the other hand, is pleased with the fact that TVIRD
has built a school building and a water system for, and employs several of his
constituents in, Baliguian. A portion of the company’s 508-hectare Mineral
Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) area falls within Baliguian, specifically
in Barangay Kilalaban. The entire MPSA area constitutes around 6 percent of
the Subanon people’s 8,213-hectare Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title
area, which straddles Siocon and Baliguian.
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Above,
TVIRD Vice President for Philippine Operations Yulo Perez (standing middle) fields questions from Siocon local government officials led by Mayor Soriano (standing left). TVIRD is biggest taxpayer and employer in Siocon, the town referred to as “paradise”, shown below with its municipal hall and plaza. “The company has contributed much to Siocon’s economic development,” says Soriano. |
While not a direct impact municipality of TVIRD, Piodena’s
R.T. Lim is the gateway to Canatuan. People going to the mine site or to Siocon
town proper 29 kilometers further west will most likely pass through several
barangays of R.T. Lim via Zamboanga City, on the southern tip of the Zamboanga
Peninsula, or via Dipolog City, the provincial capital of Zamboanga del Norte
up north.
“I rate the company’s performance as above average.
I believe it is doing its role well in public service, especially its counterparting
scheme wherein it assists in the various infrastructure projects in my town.
Some of the previously completed projects include the construction of Surabay
National High School, the maintenance of Sibugay provincial road, and the repair
works in, and repainting of, some of our schools,” Piodena pointed out.
His constituents from the villages of San Fernandino, Malubal,
Kilometer 6, and adjacent sitios bring their farm produce to the town center
using the 19-kilometer provincial road that is being maintained by the company.
A number of skilled R.T. Lim residents are likewise employed at the mine.
“Being a former worker myself, I support the responsible
mining practices of TVIRD. I know businesses like that of TVIRD can only mean
more jobs, more taxes and more economic projects for my people,” Piodena
related. The mayor was an official of ZamboWood, a logging company that operated
in Sibugay and parts of Zamboanga del Norte in the early ‘70s.
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Mayor
Esmali (left) thanked TVIRD for its contributions to the improvement of health and sanitation and promotion of education in Baliguian. Right photo shows Jubilee Siglos (standing in white), a company-paid teacher busily trying to catch the attention of her elementary pupils at Sitio Kilalaban in this town. |
Piodena hopes that TVIRD will invest directly in his municipality,
describing the company’s record of accomplishment on environmental protection
and socio-economic projects for its mining-affected communities as “remarkable.”
Like Piodena, Soriano says he would warmly welcome more investors
in his town whose population of 41,500 is composed of three ethnic groups: Muslims,
Subanons and Christians. “We call our town Paraiso (Filipino for “Paradise)
because we are so blessed by God, who has given us fertile soil, forests teeming
with wildlife, and mountains rich in gold, silver and copper,” Soriano,
who was recently adjudged as an outstanding mayor for Region 9 for his peace-making
efforts in the area, explained. “These minerals would give us more job
opportunities as they already have through TVIRD’s operations in Canatuan.”
Then he took the opportunity to address an earlier impression
that he was an anti-mining advocate: “I am not against any form of mining.
What I oppose is mining that is not transparent; those that do not coordinate
with us properly, or those that do not consult with people who are affected
by their operations.”
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Mayor
Piodena (in pink long-sleeved shirt) cuts the ceremonial ribbon signaling the formal turnover of the new two-storey school building (below) of the Surabay National High School to school officials. Assisting him are Yulo Perez, TVIRD Vice President for Philippine Operations (in yellow shirt), and Roger Gomez, Sibugay Department of Education Provincial Schools Assistant Superintendent, as well as by other representatives of the local government and the DepEd. Thess Limpin, TVIRD Community Relations and Development Office manager, is at far left. |
He stresses that TVIRD does not fall under any of these categories,
commending the company instead for its efforts in further strengthening its
relationship with its Subanon hosts and in providing employment to residents
of Zamboanga del Norte, an issue that is important to Provincial Governor Rolando
Yebes.
Esmali, meanwhile, expressed gladness that the Sulphide Project
is well on its way to completion. He said he will always be supportive of whatever
move the company will take to ensure the Project’s implementation. A Muslim
married to a Subanon, Esmali emphasized he will be happy if TVIRD will pursue
exploration activities in Baliguian, which has been identified by the national
government as among the mineralized zones in the Peninsula waiting to be developed.
Thess Limpin, TVIRD Manager for Community Relations and Development
Office, pointed out that in 2007 alone, the company spent more than P7 million
for the different community development programs and projects it had outlined
in its Social Development and Management Plan (SDMP) for its host and impact
communities in Siocon, Baliguian and R.T. Lim. The fund was used to finance
projects under the company’s Four Quadrants of Development: Responsive
Education, Sustainable Livelihood, Health and Sanitation, and Infrastructure.
“For instance, the company hired a dozen teachers for
government schools within Siocon and other impact barangays and extended scholarship
grants to Subanon youths,” Limpin enumerated. “We also constructed
water systems and communal comfort rooms under the counterparting scheme. Moreover,
we purchased medicines and conducted medical and dental missions in the remotest
barangays of Siocon.”
She said that for the second five-year cycle of the SDMP beginning
2008, TVIRD has allocated P11 million to pursue more Four Quadrants programs
for its host and surrounding communities.
TVIRD expects to commence its Sulphide operations in mid-November.
With bright prospects for another robust performance, this time in copper-zinc
concentrate production, and the tremendous goodwill it has gained from both
local leaders and residents, TVIRD hopes to further strengthen its mutually
beneficial and fruitful partnership with the townsfolk of Siocon, Baliguian,
and R. T. Lim in the years to come. (Lullie Micabalo)