In Itogon in September 2018, 19 months after Lopez issued a closure order on Benguet Corporation, disaster struckclose to 100 small-scale miners taking refuge in a company bunkhouse and a church during the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong were buried in a landslide.
Benguet Corporation lawyer Froilan Lawilao said it was the first of its kind. MGB hailed it as a model for partnership between a large-scale corporate mine operator and small-scale miners. failing to install air pollution control devices and apply for a permit to operate upon installation, andBenguet Corporation received the show-cause order on October 28 and filed its reply on November 1. The company claimed it had proof the findings were altered from an original version that declared the company compliant with mining laws.
When small-scale miners’ rushed to the Antamok mine site, it eventually prompted Benguet Corporation to apply for final decommissioning, which will turn the area into a Minahang Bayan. This will allow small-scale miners to operate legally and under the government’s radar. Benguet Corporation had been under the control of the Romualdez family until the administration of Duterte, when Benjamin Philip and Daniel Andrew Romualdez, sons of alleged Marcos crony Benjamin “Kokoy” Romualdez, left the company after decades of fighting government sequestration.
Notwithstanding Lepanto’s ISO certification and support from residents directly employed by the company, protests from host and downstream communities hound the industry giant. Companies were allowed to use natural water bodies for their mine wastes provided that these were treated. The company used to course mine waste through a tributary creek connecting to the storage facility.
Bueno said his position on the matter remained the same. “There has been no significant change, even when the company was ordered to cease its operation, the looming threat from the tailings dam remained,” he said. Lepanto recorded heavy losses in 2019. Its net loss widened to P1.03 billion from P775 million as revenues dipped 3% to P2.12 billion amid weak gold trade in 2019. The company was controlled by the family of businessman Felipe Yap.The environmental issues in Benguet’s mining towns are beyond the findings of Lopez’s audit report.
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