FILIPINO miners were among the first to help victims of Typhoon Odette, large-scale mining companies said, as they shared their recent activities such as providing clean water and food packages, to construction materials and medical teams.
Michael T. Toledo, chairman of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP), said member firms provided “unquantifiable efforts that are equally valuable in times of disaster,” such as emergency response teams, the use of company equipment in the clearing efforts, and manpower resources.
“These are our employees who were at the scenes to help the communities, like doctors who did the rounds and brought first-aid kits in affected barangays,” he said. “This was true in Odette, as in other past typhoons like Yolanda, Ondoy, and Sendong, as well as the big earthquakes in Mindanao in 2017, and Luzon in 1990.”
In the Caraga Region, for instance, Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) affiliate Taganito HPAL Corp. (THPAL) distributed food packs and rice to families and evacuees from barangays Urbiztondo and Taganito, as well as construction materials for some 3,600 families from the firm’s host town of Claver in Surigao del Norte.
According to partial data provided by Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Caraga Regional Director Larry Heradez, THPAL’s contribution alone cost some P13 million.
Philex Mining Corp. gave financial assistance to the Philippine Disaster Resiliency Foundation and the One Meralco Foundation for use in the MVP Group Tulong Kapatid Odette response efforts.
Part of the assistance is for the purchase of shelter and building materials for local government units in Surigao del Norte that were badly hit by Odette. Philex also conducted an employees’ donation drive as well as offered its generator set at its Silangan Mindanao Mining Co., Inc. project site in Barangay Timamana, Tubod, also in Surigao del Norte, for free charging of mobile phones and other communications devices.
Carmen Copper Corp. employees delivered food packs to more than 100 residents of Barangay Cantabaco, Toledo City in Cebu province while Odette was making landfall in Carcar City, some 37 kilometers south.
In the typhoon’s aftermath, Carmen Copper prioritized the distribution of basic necessities, such as food and water, to afflicted communities.
Bulk containers were set up within the mine compound to provide nearby residents water for free.
This was augmented by water trucks making rounds to reach more individuals, especially in the hinterlands. As of Dec. 31, more than 100,000 liters of domestic water as well as 20,000 pieces of relief goods have been distributed to Carmen Copper’s 17 host and neighboring communities.
Meanwhile, almost 12,000 households benefitted from the joint relief operation conducted by TVI Resource Development Philippines, Inc., Agata Mining Ventures, Inc., Greenstone Resources Corp. and the Villar Sipag Foundation.
The P7-million relief effort covered eight host and neighboring barangays of Agata in Agusan del Norte: Binuangan, Tinigbasan, Tagpangahoy, Lawigan, E. Morgado, Tagbuyacan, Colorado and La Paz. A total of 3,163 households in the area received assistance.
The operation likewise benefited the host and nearby communities of Greenstone in the town of Tubod. Some 4,830 food packs were distributed to the typhoon victims while another 3,400 were given to affected households in Surigao and Dinagat Islands.
NAC subsidiaries Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp. (RTN) in Palawan, Cagdianao Mining Corp. (CMC) in Dinagat Islands, as well as Taganito Mining Corp. and Hinatuan Mining Corp. both in Surigao del Norte provided victims in host and neighboring communities a total of nearly 14,000 sacks of rice, and some 10,000 food packs. RTN and CMC also donated materials for temporary shelter, even as the latter made available a doctor and distributed over 5,000 kilograms of chicken and pork meat and water purifiers to victims. HMC also provided medicines for gastroenteritis.
“So far, our relief has cost P40M – and counting,” said Jose Bayani Baylon, NAC vice-president for communications. “Going forward, there will be more rebuilding and repairs to be done in the communities and the islands such as Siargao, which NAC will be committed to.”
Carrascal Nickel Corp. donated P5.5 million in cash to the MGB Central Office. Platinum Group Metals, Inc. provided 5,000 sacks of rice to communities in Surigao del Norte, including Siargao Island. Pacific Nickel Phils., Inc distributed 1,300 food packs to residents of barangays Talisay and Cantiasay, as well as employees and contractors who also fell victim to Odette.
