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The Bureau of Mines and Geosciences (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7, issued a suspension order to Carmen Copper Corp. (CCC) ordering the latter to immediately suspend all its Carmen Pit mining operations after a landslide that killed at least four miners on Monday, December 21, 2020.
Heart Rizarri, MGB 7 information officer, in a message to SunStar Cebu said that the suspension order issued on Tuesday, December 22, is a prelude to conducting an investigation into the incident.
The order came just after the death toll rose to four, while six miners remained missing and missing.
Rizarri said an MGB team from the Division of Mining Safety, Environment and Social Development visited CCC on Tuesday to conduct an assessment.
The team was led by MGB 7 director Armando Malicse and DENR 7 director Paquito Melicor Jr.
Malicse, in an interview with GMA 7’s Balitang Bisdak, said that the landslide involving “igneous rocks” was concentrated in Carmen Pit.
Search and rescue operations are carried out in coordination with the Office of Management and Disaster Risk Reduction of the City of Toledo.
Toledo City Mayor Joie Perales has sought the help of the Philippine Coast Guard for divers and lifeboats that can assist with ongoing operations.
CCC statement
“From this moment on, we are in close coordination and communication with the immediate affected families and we will continue to provide the necessary support and assistance. We humbly ask the general public to be cautious and responsible in distributing information out of respect for affected families, ”the CCC said Tuesday.
The company also thanked the private groups and the Toledo City Council for providing valuable assistance in search and rescue operations.
“We are also in close coordination and communication with interested government agencies as we continue to take all necessary actions to assess and address the situation,” said CCC.
CCC has an active mining area of 276 hectares out of 1,676 hectares of its total operating area.
Currently, Carmen Pit is the company’s sole mining operations site. It is located in Barangay Biga, one of CCC’s four host barangays.
CCC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp., is the nation’s leading producer of copper concentrate.
It ships copper concentrate primarily to smelters in China and Japan and to the Associated Smelting and Refining Corporation of the Philippines in Leyte province.
Cash assistance
In addition to the assistance provided by the CCC to landslide victims, the Toledo city government will provide cash assistance to the families of the victims.
John Layan, information officer for the city of Toledo, said that in addition to the assistance provided by the CCC, the city government will provide cash assistance to the families of the victims.
However, he did not disclose the amount of financial aid.
Layan said the CCC has been a “very compliant” company in terms of government requirements for its operations.
“Let’s focus first on search and rescue. Let’s talk about responsibility later, ”Layan said in Cebuano.
For his part, the head of the Provincial Office for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction, Neil Sánchez, said that the landslide could not be due to the Tropical Depression Vicky, since the typhoon had already left PAR (Area of Responsibility Philippines) when the landslide occurred.
‘Mistreated’
Families of more than 100 miners rushed to Carmen Pit immediately after learning of the incident.
Biga Barangay captain Pedro Sepada Jr. said barangay officials and the miners’ families were mistreated by the CCC which, he said, prevented them from entering the facilities to check on the status of their loved ones. Sepada said that even the police sided with the CCC.
At 2 pm on Tuesday, CCC management allowed 10 of them to enter the site; however, the company was unclear on the status of the miners trapped inside, Sepada said.
The four miners who died were from Naga City and worked for Anseca, a CCC subcontractor.
Jody Grace Sepada, 25, whose husband, Reynante, is still missing, told Superbalita Cebu that Reynante had just returned to work when the tragedy occurred. (WORK, ANV, GPL)
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