Mining loses one of its biggest heroes

JOEL SON receiving an award for heroism in 2011. VINCENT CABREZA/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON

BAGUIO CITY—For years, gold producer Philex Mining Corp. had been sending Joel Son from its Padcal mine in Benguet to lead rescue missions each time calamities endangered lives in various parts of the country.

With Philex miners, Son helped pull out survivors after spending days tunneling through a building in Real, Quezon, that was buried deep by a 2004 landslide at the height of Tropical Depression “Winnie.”

On Tuesday, four of the people he rescued in Real went to the Benguet town of Tuba to bid Son their final goodbyes. Son, Philex mine safety manager and a 2011 Gawad Kalasag awardee, died on Good Friday after a heart attack. He was 59.

The Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association organized a tribute for the late engineer at his home in Padcal mine.

In January 2011, President Aquino handed Son his Gawad Kalasag for heroism because of his role in various rescue missions in the country.

On its website, Philex said it recognized Son for leading a team from the company in the search, rescue and recovery of landslide victims.

In 2009, Son was deep in mud, helping search for survivors when a massive landslide buried the hillside community of Little Kibungan in La Trinidad, Benguet, due to heavy rains dumped by Typhoon “Pepeng.”

The rains also triggered slides that buried several communities in nearby Baguio City, so Philex workers, led by Son, scrambled there too.

Philex said Son also led the search for a presidential helicopter that crashed in Tinoc, Ifugao, in 2009, which claimed the lives of eight soldiers and government officials, including Press Undersecretary Jose Capadocia Jr.

In 2012, Son and a

12-member team were again sent to Compostela Valley where more than 300 people died in flash floods and other tragedies triggered by Typhoon “Pablo.” Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon