A dangerous profession

 BEHIND THE SCENES

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.