TVIRD strengthens the systems and practices that help protect its workforce
The TVIRD Balabag Emergency Response Team shows their First Aid skills under time pressure. For the second consecutive year, the team cornered the championship at the Mine Safety Field Competition at the 2025 Annual National Mine Safety and Environmental Conference in Baguio City. (TVIRD file photo)Makati City / November 2026 – A workplace accident rarely happens without warning. Often, it begins with a subtle hazard left unaddressed, a risk overlooked, or a quiet warning ignored. At TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc. (TVIRD), preventing such incidents starts with a fundamental principle: empowering every worker to recognize dangers and act before harm occurs.
This commitment earned TVIRD the Regional Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Champion award in the Industry Category during the 14th Gawad Kaligtasan at Kalusugan (GKK) Regional Awards Program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Regional Office IX last October 22 at the company’s Balabag Gold and Silver mine.
Alongside the recognition, TVIRD received a ₱30,000 cash incentive, which it intends to use to strengthen OSH promotion, employee engagement, and workplace safety improvement programs.
Notably, among 11 regional nominees, TVIRD stood alone in successfully clearing the rigorous initial evaluation to reach the final deliberation. Its achievement reflects an approach to occupational safety that combines effective management systems, worker participation, proactive risk management, and measurable results.
By the end of September 2026, TVIRD hit an impressive milestone: zero lost-time incidents across 23.6 million safe man-hours. The company also logged zero notices of violation and closed out 100% of their corrective-action findings. These numbers show a strategy focused on fixing root conditions that drive operational risks.
Prevention is everyone’s responsibility
That preventive approach begins with recognizing that workplace safety depends on everyone’s willingness to identify and report potential dangers. In 2025, TVIRD recorded 456 reported workplace hazards, reflecting the importance of worker participation in identifying risks before they result in injuries.
To support this effort, TVIRD uses QRSafe, a digital system for documenting and monitoring hazards and near-miss incidents. Complementing this technology, its Safety Conscious Worker Program also encourages employees to speak up about unsafe conditions and take an active role in preventing accidents.
The value of this culture becomes clearer in practice. During a pre-task risk assessment, a worker identified an unsafe ground condition and exercised stop-work authority. Operations remained suspended until the hazard was corrected, preventing a potential injury.
Such interventions demonstrate how identifying a risk is only the first step; acting on it is what makes prevention effective. TVIRD reinforces this principle through workplace inspections, job hazard analyses, critical control verifications, management walkthroughs, and its SAFE 10 Life Saving Rules, which establish safeguards against critical workplace risks.
Equipped to respond
Beyond identifying hazards, however, workers must have the knowledge and skills to respond appropriately. TVIRD’s safety training programs cover general safety orientations, task-specific competencies, first aid, firefighting, incident investigation, and emergency response.
These initiatives support the company’s reported 98.7% participation rate in safety engagement and training programs. Its safety programs cover 1,386 employees and 454 contractors, helping promote consistent safety standards across its workforce.
Moreover, prevention requires preparedness for situations that cannot always be anticipated. From 2024 through 2026, TVIRD conducted 29 emergency drills to strengthen response capabilities. Its commitment to preparedness also extends beyond the workplace through the Balabag Community Emergency Response Team, which comprises 59 trained adult members, and community Mini Emergency Response Teams with 40 members.
By extending emergency response training into neighboring communities, TVIRD broadens its safety efforts beyond its immediate workforce, strengthening preparedness among the people who live alongside its operations.
A culture of safety
These initiatives form part of a broader evolution in TVIRD’s occupational safety and health management. From its early emphasis on compliance, the company has developed a proactive, risk-based approach that prioritizes leadership, worker participation, and continuous improvement.
This latest recognition adds to TVIRD’s record of safety achievements, including its overall championship at the 2024 National Fire Olympics, overall national champion at the Mine Safety Field Competition in 2025, and all previous distinctions under the GKK awards program.
Ultimately, maintaining a record of zero lost-time incidents requires more than the absence of accidents; it demands the consistent identification of risks and the collective resolve to address them.
For TVIRD, every reported hazard, corrected unsafe condition, and decision to address potentially dangerous work conditions brings the company closer to its goal of ensuring that every worker can perform their duties safely and return home to their families unscathed.
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