Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya—In an unprecedented move, the biggest community-based cooperatives, people’s organizations, local businesses and employees here called on the local government unit to support the renewal of the Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) of OceanaGold Philippines, Inc. (OGPI), a local subsidiary of the Australian-Canadian mining firm OceanaGold Corporation.
This development came after the Didipio barangay council issued a resolution asking President Rodrigo Duterte, through the Office of the Mayor, to deny the renewal application of the mining company.
The Didipio Community Multi-Purpose Cooperative (DCMPC) said Mayor Romeo Tayaban and Vice Mayor Alberto Bumolo Jr. should instead support OGPI’s FTAA renewal, noting how the operation of the mining company has improved the quality of life for its more than 430 members.
“The company contributed to the economic stability of our members and the stoppage of its operation affected the economic power of our members to fulfill their obligations in the organization,” DCMPC said in a resolution.
Adding another voice to the cooperative’s call, the Didipio Community Development Corporation (DiCorp), a community-owned corporation which won service contracts inside the Didipio mine, also called for the renewal of the FTAA which expired last June 20, 2019. An application for renewal remained pending at the Office of the President.
DiCorp has around 215 employees and 328 shareholders.
“The move of the barangay council did not reflect the decision of the community. There is a misrepresentation of the people as it was crafted without proper public consultation, as the majority of Didipio residents support the renewal of OceanaGold’s FTAA,” a DiCorp statement reads.
DiCorp is one of the contractors of OceanaGold in Didipio and was awarded PHP1.7B-long-term contracts from 2011-2019.
“The community benefitted from various social development projects of OGPI, such as roads, schools, health facilities, trainings, seminars and enterprise development initiatives,” DiCorp said.
Another cooperative, the Didipio Producers Cooperative (DIPCO) with its 185 members expressed the same sentiments. “OceanaGold benefitted [our] members through trainings, seminars and workshops on farming,” it said.
Being the sector most affected by the closure of the mine due to the non-renewal of the FTAA, the Didipio Mine Employees Association (DMEA) and the Pun-o-o'haan-hi-kiphodan Labor Union also voiced out their support for the renewal of the FTAA.
“We are one of the many community sectors that will be severely affected by the closure of the mine,” a statement from the mine workers said.
The union is an organization of workers and contractors of OGPI with over 309 members, who are mostly residents of Barangay Didipio. It denied allegations of environmental abuses by OGPI, saying the company ensured environmental sustainability during its resource development operations.
“The mine’s ISO certifications, ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System), ISO 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety System), and ISO 50001 (Energy Management System) are the testaments of a successful and remarkable environmental programs and initiatives of the Didipio Operations,” the mineworkers added.
Another cooperative of mineworkers, The Employees Alliances and Multipurpose Cooperative of OceanaGold (TEAMCO), joined the call with its 280 members. They echoed the same support to the renewal of the FTAA.
“The barangay council’s move is herding hundreds of community residents to uncertain and fearful future. We witnessed how the company valued us as part of the workforce by supporting all initiatives and endeavors to uphold the state of living of each member, providing us an avenue to see development in our families, community, and stakeholders,” TEAMCO noted in its resolution.
Also supporting the call of various community organizations, the Sangguniang Kabataan and Buklod Didipio, both representing the youth in Didipio, likewise issued resolutions calling on the municipal leadership to support the call for the renewal of OGPI’s FTAA.
“The non-renewal of OGPI’s FTAA poses severe threats, not only to the dynamics of economic activities of Didipio but also to the scholarship of students whose only hope for a better future is securing a better education,” the two youth groups expressed.
OGPI’s relationship with the Didipio Local Government Unit turned sour when Barangay Captain Ereneo Bobbola won the local elections of May 14, 2018.
Bobbola and OGPI have been locked in a protracted dispute related to the satisfactory compensation of the former’s piece of land acquired by the later during the construction of the Didipio mine.