Philex grants scholarships to 20 college studes in Benguet

By TotengTanglao

ITOGON, Benguet -- Philex Mining Corp. has granted scholarships to 20 students belonging to the 42 households in two barangays here and pursuing various college degrees in different schools.

Dubbed College Educational Assistance (CEA) Program, the scholarship covers full tuition, a book allowance of P2,500 per semester, a monthly stipend of P1,500 from when the student is enrolled, and an incentive of P5,000 for a student who graduates.

In an agreement between Philex Mining and each of the students and their parents signed on July 14, the company said the CEA is in line with its “desire to promote the mining industry and its commitment to help in the development of host- and neighboring communities.”

“What a great help for me and my family,” said Rose Jane Lachica, a first-year student at King’s College of the Philippines, in the Benguet capital of La Trinidad, whose father’s livelihood is fishing and gold panning. Without this scholarship, she stressed, it would be difficult for her to finish her studies, considering that her two other siblings are also in school.

Libby Ricafort, vice president at Philex Mining and resident manager of Padcal Operations, said the scholars are either children or siblings of couples who are part of the 42 households found in Sitios Pangbasan, Pao, and Ambalanga, all in Brgy. Dalupirip, as well as in sub-Sitios of Kanagjan and Terong, both in Brgy.Ampucao.

These sitios were affected by the tailings-leak accident last Aug. 1, when Padcal’s Tailings Storage Facility No. 3 discharged nontoxic water and sediment into Balog Creek and its convergence area with Agno River, following historically unprecedented rains brought about by two successive typhoons.

Philex Mining had provided immediate remediation measures for the affected families, such as food and compensation for lost incomes as well as payment for the tools they used intheir livelihood.

           

Ricafort said the scholars have accomplished the requirements imposed by Philex Mining, such as having a minimum GPA, or grade point average, of 80 percent. These students are in different years in their studies in various schools in Baguio City and Benguet, and pursuing varied college degrees—from accounting management to education and forestry to environmental science, among other courses.

           

He said the CEA has been created through Philex Mining’s Social Development and Management Program (SDMP), which accounts for 75 percent of the 2013 Annual SDMP (ASDMP) amounting to P65.79 million, or P74.04 million including the P8.25 million carried over from 2012.

Fifteen percent of the ASDMP budget goes to Padcal Operations’ Information and Education Campaign while10 percent is for the Development of Mining Technology and Geosciences (DMTG),which involves research on how to further develop the mining industry.