BAGUIO CITY ? Leftists and residents of a mining town in Benguet have blamed the expansion of mining operations for the collapse of school buildings there last week.

But officials of a mining firm said there was no basis to blame the firm?s operations for the landslides.

In a press conference here on Tuesday, members of the Benguet Mining Action Alert Network, Cordillera Peoples Alliance, and Episcopalian Church of the Philippines, former miners and residents of Mankayan, Benguet, called on the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co. to cease its operations to prevent landslides in the area.

However, lawyer Benedicto Carantes, Lepanto legal counsel, disputed claims that the operations had caused the massive landslides.

?The mining operations have nothing to do with the landslides. The underground tunnel operation is 1,000 feet below the surface so it cannot affect the movement on the surface. The soil was weak and it was washed out due to heavy rains,? he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by telephone.

Carantes also said Lepanto geologists had downplayed claims that mining was the main cause of the slides. He said Lepanto welcomed an investigation to determine the landslides? cause.

Xavier Akien, CPA vice chairman for internal affairs, said his group released mining alerts to international environmental groups so they could pressure Benguet?s government to ban the expansion of Lepanto?s operations.

He said the group would also bring the issue to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Desiree Caluza, Inquirer Northern Luzon