BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO
KASIBU, Nueva Vizcaya (April 29)—Amid the nearly two years extended closure of Didipio mine operation here, OceanaGold Philippines, Inc. (OGPI) continued assisting communities to combat the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and other needs related to the pandemic.
Lawyer Joan Adaci- Cattiling, OGPI president, said OGPI despite non-operation pending license renewal has provided assistance to their host and neighboring communities shelling out close to P20 million Covid-related needs since the outbreak in mid-March last year.
For 2020, Adaci-Cattiling said OGPI extended P2.1 million help to frontliners in Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Isabela and Cagayan provinces in Region 2, including the province of Ifugao in the Cordillera region for surgical and KN95 masks, medical coveralls, alcohol and surgical globes benefitting some 18,294 individuals.
She said beneficiaries include regional, provincial and municipal hospitals; provincial and municipal health offices; the Philippine National Police, disaster risks and reduction management offices and other government agencies.
In the mining-impacted communities in Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino provinces which include 11 social development management plan (SDMP) barangays (villages) as well as non-impacted villages, OGPI provided over P6.6 million of the same assistance including rice and food packs for 20,747 households.
For 2021, Adaci-Cattiling said more than P5.7 million have also been distributed the same goods and materials to the frontliners in Kasibu (Nueva Vizcaya) municipal health office and Cabarroguis (Quirino) including rapid antigen test kits, medical gowns and washable suits.
Other Covid-related needs were also provided in the amount of P5 million to the Department of Education here such as printers, photocopying machines and bond papers for blended learning for elementary schools, high schools, senior high schools, alternative learning system and daycare centers.
GOVT FINALIZES OGPI FTAA RENEWAL
OceanaGold’s 25-year financial or technical assistance agreement (FTAA) became effective on June 20, 1994 and that its initial term expired on June 20, 2019, a year after it lodged its application for renewal.
An FTAA is a permit issued to a multinational company that will share technology and resources to explore and extract minerals in the Philippines.
Aside from Nueva Vizcaya provincial government leadership’s move to stop the company’s operation, it was also an issue of ancestral domain claim by the Bugkalot Tribe over the area where OGPI operates which was reportedly one of the reasons for the delay of its FTAA renewal.
The government finally re-started the negotiations on OceanaGold’s FTAA renewal in December 2020 after the granting of a Certification of Non-Overlap or CNO to the company by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples stating that the area of its mining operations is outside of an ancestral domain.
Earlier this week, reports said the Philippine government has already finalized the updated FTAA with OceanaGold.
Reports said the Mines and Geosciences Bureau finalized and concluded discussions on this matter and that the new FTAA now awaits the signature of Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu which will be forwarded to the Office of the President for President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature.
According to the MGB, the deal gives the government a pre-determined share in the mining project.