Villagers ask Toledo City mayor to rule on copper mining operations

CEBU CITY –– Officials and residents of a village in Toledo City have sought the help of the city mayor to regulate the mining operations of a private firm, which has allegedly caused health concerns and destroyed some structures in the place.

In a letter addressed to Toledo City Mayor Marjorie Perales, Biga Barangay Captain Pedro Sepada said many residents are suffering from pulmonary ailments while others have been forced to transfer to new locations due to the operations of Carmen Copper Corporation (CCC).

“This has added to the financial burdens of our already impoverished constituents. We are reaching out to you as the mother of our city in the hopes that you could help us achieve an immediate long-term solution to our concerns. I would like to seek your help in preventing a disaster from happening,” Sepada said.

Some residents, he said, also reported that their houses have sustained cracks on the floors and walls due to the vibration of CCC’s blasting activities, and not as a result of poor construction quality.

Residents, who have transferred to new locations, were given compensation of P2,000 and a few pieces of wood, which the village chieftain said were not enough to rebuild their houses.

“We are especially worried now that the blasting operations might continue to deteriorate structures in the barangay or worse, may result in massive landslides in the man-made mountainous stock-pile of mine waste,” Sepada said.

The Inquirer tried but failed to reach CCC through the phone.

In a resolution, the Biga council also appealed to the city council to conduct an inquiry “in aid of legislation” on the CCC operation, particularly its disposal of waste materials.

The village council also requested the city council to draft an ordinance giving the affected village the exclusive authority and power over the improper dumping of waste materials to secure compensation and source of livelihood for the villagers for the damage it had incurred due to the mining operation of CCC.

Sepada has received several complaints from his constituents on the heaps of waste mining materials and excessive blasting, which have damaged the health, safety, and property of residents.

“The punong barangay of Biga expresses fear and acknowledges its lack of resources to address possible calamities,” the resolution of the village council read.

“There is an urgent call for the determination of the truth regarding the shaded mining operation of Carmen Copper Corporation and to put a closure or stoppage to them, if warranted, by creating an ordinance to regulate their nefarious activities,” it added.

In May, Biga residents filed a complaint at the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau in Central Visayas against CCC’s blasting activities.

The letter said blasting was done twice a day and conducted about 350 meters away from a human settlement. The ground vibrations caused by the blasts have left cracks on walls and floors. They also observed that the groundwater spring that served as their water source has dried up.

Edited by Lzb