Benguet Corp. denies it encouraged small-scale mining in Itogon

A rescuer looks at the site of a landslide where victims are believed to have been buried after Typhoon “Ompong” barreled across Itogon, Benguet province on Sept. 17, 2018. Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said that at the height of the typhoon’s onslaught Saturday afternoon, dozens of people, mostly miners and their families, rushed into an old three-story building in the village of Ucab. The building, a former mining bunkhouse that had been transformed into a chapel, was obliterated when part of a mountain slope collapsed. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Benguet Corporation (BC) has denied allegations that it encouraged small-scale mining in Itogon, saying that the miners were operating illegally in an area where extracting activities have been suspended since 1990.

“Benguet Corporation (BC), which has been falsely accused of endangering the lives of small-scale miners by allowing them to operate within its property, has opted to prioritize the giving of assistance to victims and helping in the search, rescue, and retrieval operations first,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The affected small-scale miners whose shanties were swept by the landslide are illegally operating in the company’s Antamok claims. Their illegal mining and gold processing activities in Antamok are without the permission of BC,” the mining firm added.

Miners and other persons inside a chapel were buried after a landslide hit Barangay Ucab, Itogon. The rains from Typhoon “Ompong” softened the land in the area.  The chapel used to be the bunkhouse of miners from BC.

Local executives said that 11 bodies were already recovered, while around 40 to 50 were feared dead.

READ: Hope fades for dozens trapped in landslides 

READ: Enforce ban on pocket mining, Cimatu orders 

The Antamok open pit mine was the pilot area of Itogon’s first Minahang Bayan, which was initiated by former Environment Secretary Gina Lopez.  Under the project, small-scale miners would be allowed to use the area, which used to be a part of BC’s Grand Antamok Project.

READ: Antamok open pit mine tapped for Minahang Bayan in Benguet 

However, BC said that Mines and Geosciences Board (MGB) has not yet approved any application for the Minahang Bayan.

“Currently there are 65 pending applications in the region for Minahang Bayan, none of which was approved by MGB,” BC said.

BC also clarified that it has warned small-scale miners about the hazards of operating in the area, which they have been allegedly using illegally.

“During the period of suspension, the Antamok mines were gradually encroached by small-scale operations […] subsequent warnings and notices from the company for the SSMs to vacate the areas were met with resistance and outright refusal,” the mining firm explained.