BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO
QUEZON, Nueva Vizcaya (January 29)—The FCF Minerals Corporation in Runruno village here has absorbed and qualified at least 17 students in the province under its various scholarship programs.
James Carmichael, FCF Country Manager, said the scholarship they are offering to students is in partnership with their host barangay local government unit of Runruno.
He said eight of the 17 scholars were accommodated under their Development of Mining Technology and Geosciences or DMTG program while nine will be funded under their Social Development and Management Programs or SDMP program.
FCF operates the Runruno gold-molybdenum project that is covered under a financial and technical assistance agreement or FTAA with the Philippine government.
Carmichael emphasized that the scholarship program is not limited to students from their host barangay and nearby villages impacted by the mining operation but also rolled annually to qualified applicants from various towns in Nueva Vizcaya.
“Selected last year, our scholars from the towns of Diadi, Dupax del Norte, Quezon, Bambang and Solano will be taking up the courses leading to college degrees such as Bachelor of Science (BS) in Engineering, BS Geology, BS Education, BS Forestry and BS Business Administration,” he said.
Carmichael said the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has made it impossible for the company to conduct face-to-face interviews and examinations for the scholarship applicants.
“Instead, we conduct interviews for applicants, this time, through phone interviews and program orientation,” he said.