Miners and fishermen forge partnership

Muslim hosts to TVIRD’s Santa Maria warehouse and port facility welcome firm’s presence

Hamjan Asamuddin knows the seas of Santa Maria by heart. Born and raised and having learned the Qur’an in this sleepy, predominantly Muslim fishing village, he has seen many seasons of abundant fishes caught in pukot and kubkoban fish nets. Santa Maria, one of the seven coastal villages of Siocon town in Zamboanga del Norte, hosts the copper concentrates warehouse of TVI Resource Development Philippines, Inc. (TVIRD) and the port where the company loads its produce for shipment abroad.

But while aquamarine resources continue to thrive in Siocon, Asamuddin’s earnings as a fisherman were simply not enough to meet his family’s growing needs. A father of three, Asamuddin once tried his luck in neighboring Malaysia to earn more money for his family, but homesickness brought him back to his beloved Santa Maria. He has been a TVIRD employee for almost a year now. During shipment days, he is in charge of placing buoys to guide the ocean vessel in maneuvering safely towards the port. He also makes sure he is always in touch with his fellow villagers who every now and then ask him questions about the company’s operations. He would always have the patience to answer them.

Recently, Asamuddin thought it wise to bring the officers and members of the Santa Maria Fisher Folks Association Inc. (SMFFAI) – a group he helped organize with support from personnel of TVIRD’s Community Relations and Development Office (CReDO) and Assay and Concentrate Management Department – to the company’s mine site in Canatuan, a mountain village of the Subanon indigenous people some 25 kilometers northeast of Siocon. Asamuddin knew it would be best for the fisher folks to see TVIRD’s operations for themselves.

Pete Remoto, manager of TVIRD Canatuan’s Mine Department assured the visitors from Santa Maria that vegetation “is very much possible” in the mountain being mined. At TVIRD’s Sulphide Plant, the visitors were shown how ore is processed into the copper concentrates they have seen being loaded at the Santa Maria Port.

Mine officials also brought the fisher folks to the Sulphide Dam where TVIRD Canatuan Civil Engineering Services Manager Ed Nercuit – a Siocon native and a Muslim himself – pointed out that “tailings from the plant are properly impounded so that bodies of water flowing to Siocon are protected from contaminants and that residents of downstream villages like Santa Maria remain safe and their livelihood sources are protected.”

SMFFAI President Tan Cailo saw fresh water fishes being cultured within the dam, which, according to him, only shows that water within the tailings impoundment facility “is not toxic.” Impressed by what he saw, Cailo expressed his support for the company’s presence in Santa Maria: “The company is an important partner to progress and development. It has been operating in our village for only ten months, but it has already provided us jobs and constructed a road, which are very important to us.”

Cailo was referring to the 59 Siocon, mostly Santa Maria, residents employed by TVIRD – 38 of them during shipment seasons – and the already completed Barason-Busikong stretch of the company’s ongoing Busikong-Lagkal-Banso Road project. Before this road was built, residents at the far end of Santa Maria had to ride a boat to get to the village proper or to exit to the Siocon town center. TVIRD has likewise conducted several medical missions in Siocon, including Santa Maria, as part of the company’s Social Development and Management Program for host and impact communities.

Jose Dagala, TVIRD CReDO Information Officer, said SMFFAI will soon receive from the company seed money for a Micro-Finance Program. The Program will provide soft loans to the fisher folks so they could engage in small businesses that would help augment their family incomes. “It worked with the Subanon women in Canatuan,” Dagala stressed. “If properly managed, I am sure the Program will also work for our Muslim brethren.” (See Micro-Finance for Subanon Women here)

Ely Valmores, Acting General Manager of TVIRD Canatuan, urged the Santa Maria visitors to properly manage their seed capital: “Many similar programs in other areas failed and millions of pesos were lost because of mismanagement of funds. We will, together with micro-financing experts, provide assistance to SMFFAI to make sure the funds will be used properly.”

“Other company-sponsored projects that are in the pipeline include a water system for residents of Santa Maria and its other sub-villages,” Dagala said.

Cailo recognized TVIRD’s full support for SMFFAI: “CReDO has helped us organize ourselves so that our voices can be heard and that we can have easier access to government offices for assistance and for our training needs so we can turn our organization into one cohesive and meaningful force.”

Asked to comment on what he saw during the mine tour, 50 year-old SMFFAI member Ajid Salamat said he was much satisfied and “very impressed” with the safety measures being implemented by TVIRD in Canatuan. “Ngayon alam ko na ang totoo,” (Now I know the truth),” he quipped, implying that some people had been misleading them into believing that mining operations cannot mitigate their impact on the environment.

During the exit conference with the visiting SMFFAI members, TVIRD officials urged the fisher folk community to preserve the peace and stability in their area to encourage bigger investments and opportunities to come to their place. “Peace and stability are among your many assets,” Dagala stressed.

For her part, CReDO Manager Theresa Limpin encouraged the fisher folks to continue their vigilance in protecting their seawaters.

Since its entry into Siocon, TVIRD has been vigorously pursuing mine tours for, and dialogues with, various groups and sectors to showcase the firm’s facilities and operations in keeping with its transparency and open door policy.

“With TVIRD around I am assured of a brighter future for my children,” Asamuddin said. “They do not have to cross the seas and leave the country to find their luck in strange lands, like what I did many years ago.” (Lullie Micabalo with Joey Ybanez)