ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE – With TVI Resource Development (Phils.) Inc., (TVIRD) responsible mining is not just another word; but a reality in Bayog town, a third-class municipality in the province of Zamboanga del Sur.
Some 800 farmers witnessed this commitment when TVIRD and the Zamboanga del Sur provincial government signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for a joint agricultural project to establish a cassava plantation in Bayog.
“So far, this is the biggest project that our farmers have had in Bayog in so many years,” a Subanon beneficiary said. At least 350 farmers from 20 barangays of Bayog town, both the host and neighbouring communities, will soon benefit from the company’s commitment to the government.
“I believe this project (of planting cassava) is a big help to augment the livelihood of the people of Bayog,” Governor Antonio Cerilles told the farmer-beneficiaries who trooped to the municipal gymnasium for the MOA signing.
Renne Subido, TVIRD Vice President for Corporate Social Commitment, led the signing of MOA in behalf of the company. In his short message, Subido said that this is the part of the company’s commitments to the government. He added that the company responded positively when the provincial government asked TVIRD to be a partner in the cassava plantation project.
The barangays of Bayog town identified as beneficiaries of the cassava plantation projects include Poblacion, Kahayagan, Kanipaan, Damit, Salawagan, Dipili, Lamare, Depore, Sigacad, Balukbahan, Matin-ao, Datagan, Bubu-an, Canoayan, Deporehan, Liba, Camp Blessing, Supon, Balumbunon, Conacon, Bantal, Dimalinao, Pulang Bato, San Isidro, Depase, Matun-og, Dagum, and Baking.
Each beneficiary only needs a one-hectare land to be planted with cassava. The cassava is Lakan, a hybrid variety from Bukidnon.
Though TVIRD is still on its pre-development stage in Balabag, a sitio of Bayog, it has already contributed P18-M for various community projects such as repair of barangay roads, construction of school buildings, water reservoirs, and footbridges since 2011.
The company is 100% owner of the 4,000-hectare Balabag property, which is covered by the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) authorized by the government to operate its gold-silver project in the area.
The joint project has a total cost of Php11.6-M divided into four programs, namely: Cassava Gahung-Gahung program, Integrated Rick-Duck Farming System, Gulayan sa Kabahayan, and Gulayan sa Paaralan. The company allocated P5.5-M as counterpart to the P6.1-M appropriations from the Zamboanga del Sur government for the cassava project as stipulated in the MOA.
The governor explained that the joint project is a type of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with the provincial government as the lead agency to implement the project. He was thankful to TVIRD for the realization of the joint project and, at the same time, criticized the illegal small-scale mining financiers who have done nothing for community development.
For many years, the illegal small-scale mining operators in Balabag have used crude and environmentally-harmful mining methods; avoided paying taxes to the government; employed children as labourers; and provided no social development projects as required by the mining laws.
The governor already has an inkling of the town’s future when TVIRD starts its mining operations in Balabag soon. Just like in Canatuan, Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte—where TVIRD has been operating its copper-zinc operations and has already enriched lives of thousands—Balabag, Bayog will then be the next living testimony of responsible mining in the real sense of the word.
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