PAGADIAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / July 21, 2012) – TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc. (TVIRD), an affiliate of a foreign investor in the Philippines for almost twenty years, has been the subject of a coordinated, sophisticated attack, according a Special Report released to the Mindanao Examiner on Saturday by the risk mitigation company Pacific Strategies and Assessments.
TVIRD, which is associated with the Canadian company, TVI Pacific Inc., has operated the Canatuan mine, in Zamboanga del Norte, since 2004 and is in the process of developing the Balabag gold and silver mine, in nearby Zamboanga del Sur.
The company holds the mining license from the national government to the Balabag site. Small-scale miners in the area have refused to respect the government’s decision and vacate the site, despite generous relocation packages offered by TVIRD.
In recent weeks, journalists, government officials and others have been receiving copies of what were described as leaked TVIRD company emails. The emails laid out shocking plans by company security officials to attack small-scale miners, organize assassinations, plant bombs and commit other human rights violations.
The emails are a wholesale fraud, according to the Special Report released today by Pacific Strategies and Assessments, titled “Foreign Investment under Fire in the Philippines: The Coordinated Attack against TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc.”
Two groups of experts found glaring inconsistencies between actual TVIRD emails and those being circulated, according to the report. The NBI investigated the emails as well and also found them to be fraudulent.
“The company is undergoing a sophisticated, high-level assault that appears to be coordinated with impunity by powerful individuals seeking to dislodge TVIRD from its licensed mine site in Zamboanga del Sur,” the report said.
Most disturbingly, the report finds that TVI has had little support from national government officials in defending itself from the attack. The report provides disturbing insights into the state of foreign investment in the country’s mining sector.
“The resolution of the matter is an important indicator of the commitment of the national government to undertake anti-corruption and pro-investment policies in the Philippines,” the report noted.
TVIRD is the Philippine affiliate of TVI Pacific Inc., a publicly-listed Canadian mining company focused on the exploration and production of precious and base metals from district scale, large system, high margin projects located in the Philippines.
TVIRD is committed to exploration and mining practices that promote transparency, responsible stewardship of the environment, and the inalienable rights to life, dignity and sustainable development of host communities.
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