Liability of Itogon execs in landslide investigated

Miners paid fees to mine BC site 

By Gina Dizon

ITOGON, Benguet -- Small scale miners were tolerated to stay in an “abandoned” mining site and bunkhouse located in a private property of Benguet Corp. here in Ucab through the years.

This was bared by Fernando Mangili, small scale miner and officer of the United Concerned Citizens of Ucab after around a hundred small scale miners and their families were killed in a landslide here at the height of Typhoon Ompong two weeks ago.

Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said the DENR is probing liability of local government officials and BC in the “landslide” wherein scores of “buried” and “missing” victims are still being retrieved or “rescued,” government officials said.

The victims stayed in the bunkhouse during the Sept. 15 typhoon and got buried from debris that fell from the mountain slope to the bunkhouse located below.

Most of the dead miners were from Ifugao who left their homes in search for livelihood and found their way  in the mining site at Itogon.

Mangili said in an interview small scale miners were required to pay an entrance fee in entering the abandoned mining site for quite some time.

Miners who used the “abandoned mining site” also paid some amount for their “rights” as “mining claimants” to enter BMC’s Antamok minesite, Mangili added.   

BC left the site in mid 1990s after doing underground mining and open pit mining but small scale mining activities continued.

Another miner who requested anonymity said the miners in agreement with BC paid an entrance fee of P15 each per small scale miner-member to their organization, Lower Gumoc in Ucab which in turn paid to BC.

Payment however stopped when BC demanded that the entrance fee be increased, the miner said.

In previous three years, Lower Gumok organization paid an annual amount to BC through its Balatoc counter to enable them to mine the Antamok site, he added.   

BC earlier said in newspaper reports that they never allowed illegal mining in the landslide area referring to their Antamok claims in Ucab.    

Mangili said the private property has a gate and a security guard. Yet small scale miners were allowed to enter the private property.

Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan earlier blamed BC for allowing a small-scale mining group to use its facilities such as the abandoned mining tunnel to operate and allowed people to put up shanties in the Antamok mining area.

BC has given opportunity for the small scale miners to mine their abandoned mine site for a fee, Mangili claimed.

BC said in reports they have issued warnings and notices for the small scale miners to vacate the area.

The company said criminal cases were filed and counter actions were taken against illegal miners. BC said it had blasted and blocked portals but said tunnels were reopened by the small scale miners. 

Palangdan said he sent letters twice to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau to act on small scale mining in the questioned site.

MGB Director Fay Apil, said the mining site has since been declared a geo hazard zone but added the landslide was not caused by mining but heavy rains.

But Mangili said if that’s the case then MGB which has a geo- hazard map should have compelled BC to  in turn make small scale miners leave the “abandoned” mining site.

Since the MGB claimed the landslide came from the mountain which is not a mining site, then the MGB should have exerted efforts to let BC make small scale miners leave the landslide prone site, Mangili said.

The MGB had declared parts of Cordillera landslide-prone and geo hazard region including Itogon.  

Mangili said UCCU wants the BC’s Antamok claims donated to the local government  to have it rehabilitated and the site be used for best use of the community.

BC has reportedly “donated” its patented claims in Antamok as Minahang Bayan wherein mining will be regulated by government. 

BC reportedly wrote a letter to DENR requesting assistance for permanent closure and stoppage of all illegal mining and processing activities within its Itogon mining claims and for relocation of displaced small scale miners into the planned Minahang Bayan sites in Antamok.  

Leoncio Naoy, business manager of Benguet Federation of Small Scale Miners said the organization pushed legitimization of small scale mining activities through Minahang Bayan.

He said application for Minahang Bayan of the small scale miners of Itogon, Mankayan and Tuba were already published as a requirement.

Small scale mining is here to stay unless alternative and stable livelihood is provided to SSM miners, Naoy said.

He said at least 12,000 small scale miners would be affected due to DENR’s order to stop small scale mining activities.

Most of them came from Ifugao, Mountain Province and Kalinga and migrated to Itogon, established their families here and worked on small scale mining for quite some time.

Itogon had since been an open area for mining.

In pursuit for livelihood, some small scale miners died inside the tunnels due to suffocation or the mines caved in during typhoons.