Spillover

July 22, 2017 Community Billboard

Secretary Roy A. Cimatu (middle), of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and Philex Mining Corp. CEO and President Eulalio Austin, Jr. join other government and company officials for a photo-op at the open spillway of Padcal mine, in Itogon town’s Sitio Balog, Brgy. Ampucao, July 19. During his visit at Padcal mine, the gold-and-copper operations of Philex Mining in Benguet, Cimatu tells company officials to “continue what you are doing to protect the environment…” Austin assures him of the company’s adherence to its obligations on community development, nation-building, and environmental protection. Also pictured are Gilbert Gonzales, former director of DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) and now DENR regional executive director for Bicol; DENR Asst. Sec. (for Field Operations-Luzon) Juan Miguel Cuna; Ralph Pablo, regional director of DENR-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR); DENR Undersecretary (for Attached Agencies) Ernesto Adobo Jr. (partly hidden); Fay Apil, regional director of DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB)-CAR; Manuel Agcaoili, SVP at Philex Mining and resident manager of Padcal; Mario Chan, head executive assistant to Cimatu; and Ignacio Rivera, mayor of Tuba. The open spillway, which is undergoing improvement and where nontoxic water from Padcal’s Tailings Storage Facility No. 3 passes through before it pours into the Balog Creek, a tributary to the Agno River, has replaced TSF3’s underground drainage system since August 2013 for a much safer mining operations. PR