Alfred P,
Dizon
ITOGON, Benguet – If the
government won’t be able to provide adequate assistance like livelihood to
small scale miners here affected by cease and desist order from Environment Roy
Cimatu for them to stop their main source of livelihood – a dangerous
profession, expect crime to increase in adjoining areas like Baguio City.
Pundits are of this
observation saying this happened in the 90’s when Benguet Corp. shut operations
wherein a lot of its employees suddenly lost their jobs. With nothing to feed
their families, some resorted to crime.
Police then attributed
increase in Baguio’s crime rate to the shutdown.
It was during that time
that the Tiong San building was robbed wherein millions of pesos and items were
stolen in a heist which was later blamed on small scale miners.
The perpetrators went
inside the drainage canal and tunnelled the area, drilled the basement of the
building then went inside in the dead of night.
The thieves have not
been found until now. This made authorities inspect the tunnel and found out a
truck could actually pass inside.
Anyhow, police believe
some of them have metamorphosed into elaborate operators and are now
responsible for robbing establishments like banks by tunnelling basements of
buildings not only in Manila but other parts of the country.
One group was recently
caught in Manila after they tunnelled the basement of an establishment and were
found out to be kakailian as shown on television.
***
As observers point out,
people won’t resort to crime if they have enough for their families’ needs.
They say, this is one important issue the government must address as a result
of the Cimatu’s order due to the deadly landslide as Typhoon Ompong lashed at
Northern Luzon that killed around 100 persons in Itogon.
What they need is
livelihood, not mere dole-outs – like a couple of sardines and noodles here and
there.
Itogon Mayor Victorio
Palangdan had urged support for relocation of more than 400 families in the
landslide -affected area in Barangay Ucab
Palangdan had also called
on Benguet Corp.to look for possible relocation sites for the displaced
residents of Ucab particularly those
whose kin were buried alive by the landslide.
Retrieval operations
have stopped last week even as some were still missing. "Our focus now is
the safety and the welfare of our constituents,” Palangdan said. The local
government urged BC officials for a dialogue so that they can help each other
settle problems related to the deadly landslide among others like relocation
sites and livelihood for the victims and their families.
Aside from relocation
site for the displaced families, the mayor asked the mine firm to provide a
temporary burial site for unidentified bodies.
Concrete results as a
result of talks have yet to be known.
***
The area where the
landslide occurred is part of the abandoned mine site of BC which maintains
ownership of about 70 percent of mine claims
in Itogon.
As the local government
of Itogon and the Benguet Corporation had yet to compromise, the families were
evacuated at the Alejo Pacalso Elementary and High School and the other schools
in Itogon but had to leave when classes resumed. Classes have been suspended
for a week in the municipality to give way for the use of schools as evacuation
areas.
The concern now is where
to relocate the hundreds of evacuees, some of whom have returned to their
native provinces like Ifugao.
Palangdan said town
government coordinated with government agencies like the Housing Land Use and
Regulatory Board and the National Housing Authority for possible available
areas for the temporary relocation of evacuees.
The municipal government
of Itogon worked with the Social Action Ministry of the Catholic Church through
Caritas-Baguio which has reached out to them and helped affected families.
***
Palangdan said Cimatu’s order
left hundreds of families affected since small scale mining is the primary
livelihood in the area next to agriculture.
Around 10,000 small scale miners are in Itogon.
DSWD-CAR regional director
Janet Armas said at least 281 families affected have been profiled and more
than 40 families were willing to go
back to their hometowns particularly in the provinces of Ifugao, Nueva Vizcaya
and Aurora through the “Balik Probinsya Program”. This leaves still hundreds of
families homeless and without livelihood.
Armas said for those
willing to go back to their respective provinces, the DSWD-CAR will provide
transportation and will coordinate with regional or provincial offices of their
hometowns for livelihood support and
other assistance they can avail of.
As pundits say, what the
victims like the miners and their families need is a holistic approach in
addressing the situation wherein even the education of the children must be
considered so they will not end up in the future digging for gold in a
dangerous tunnel to make ends meet.
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