Mining firm denies ‘profit-sharing’ deal with small-scale miners

The mining company that owned the landslide-hit site in Itogon, Benguet on Tuesday denied they had a profit-sharing agreement with small-scale miners who continued to work the abandoned site.

"Let me just clarify... in that area, there is no profit-sharing scheme," Benguet Corporation's AVP for Corporate Communications and Special Projects Ma. Anna Vicedo-Montes said on GMA News TV program "State of the Nation with Jessica Soho".

"There is no 60-40 agreement, there is no deal like that with the small-scale illegal miners there,"  Vicedo-Montes emphasized.

Benguet Corporation’s ceased mining operations at the site in the late 1990s, but small-scale miners continued to occupy the area.

No less than 18 bodies have been dug up from the landslide site since Typhoon Ompong unleashed torrents of rain and strong winds over northern Luzon on Saturday.

The local government had earlier criticized the mining company for supposedly failing to rehabilitate the area, particularly for leaving behind major tunnels which were seen as one of the causes of the landslide.

Tunnels

However, Benguet Corporation maintained that they had urged small-scale miners to leave the area, which had been declared a geohazard by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.

"In any mining corporation, you require tunnels. So yes, Benguet Corporation built the major tunnels there but when we suspended our operations ang mga tunnels na 'yan ay sealed," explained Vicedo-Montes.

Citing the Benguet Corporation's official statement on the matter, Vicedo-Montes emphasized that the company had even filed cases against miners who attempted to mine the abandoned site.

"We actually filed criminal and civil cases against these individuals who destroyed our...seals na nilagay natin sa mga tunnels because we are aware of the potential risks to their lives," she said.

The executive also clarified that the "repair" of the tunnels was included in the rehabilitation plan, which they have submitted for the government's approval.

"On the tunnels, there are engineering interventions that can be done to rehabilitate that, and naka-programa 'yan," Vicedo-Montes said. "'Yan ay parte nu'ng aming isinumite sa DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) na final mine rehabilitation program for the Antamoc mine." — Margaret Claire Layug/DVM, GMA News