ITOGON, Benguet – Majority of the residents of barangay Poblacion here, favored the raising of the tailings storage facility (TSF) of the Itogon Suyoc Resources, Inc. (ISRI) by an additional four meters to ensure the safety of the community during a consultation that was called for the purpose last Sunday.
After more than 2 hours of intense discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of the mining firm’s dam raising project, 35 community elders, residents and barangay officials of Poblacion voted in favor of the additional 4 meters raising of the tailings pond with conditions that will be embodied in a memorandum of agreement (MOA) covering the same with the inclusion of the proposal of downstream barangays for continuous engagement concerning the issues and concerns affecting the said areas while 16 individuals voted against the implementation of the project.
Under the 1994 MOA of the former Itogon Suyoc Mines, Inc. (ISMI) and elders of barangay Poblacion, the company was allowed to put up its tailings pond to a maximum height of 980 meters. One of the conditions of the said agreement is that when the level of the dam reaches 965 meters, the company is allowed to gradually increase the height of the dam up to a maximum of 15 meters which will be done in 3 stages where consultations with the community is required for every 5 meters increase in the dam height.
When ISMI ceased operations in the 1990s the dam height was approximately 965 meters which paved the new management, ISRI, to consult with the community for the increase in the dam height by the first 5 meters where the same was followed by a series of consultations with the community.
In 2021, majority of the community elders and residents voted in favor of the requested 5 meters increase in the dam height but the company must first work on the initial 1 meter subject to the imposed conditions to ascertain its commitment to fulfill its obligations with the community while separate consultations will be done for the additional 4 meters to complete the initial stage of the dam raising project.
Barangay Poblacion created the so-called TSF panel to spearhead the conduct of a series of consultations with the community that resulted to the crafting of a draft MOA that will entered into by and between the company, the barangay and the indigenous peoples organization which was presented to the community residents and leaders during last Sunday’s gathering.
Among the conditions of the said agreement include the monitoring of the project, the provision of financial and technical assistance to the community, establishment of the environmental guarantee fund, priority for employment to qualified residents in the area, the designation of working areas for small-scale miners and the mutual respect for the rights of concerned parties.
Earlier, the multipartite monitoring team (MMT) and the community, through the created TSF panel, also requested the company to further fortify the stability of the dam by working on the anchor, the dam crest and the face of the facility while consultations for the raising of the dam by an additional 4 meters to complete the first stage will be done to ascertain the conditions of the villagers that will be incorporated in the agreement for the overall safety of the community.
On the proposal by a few oppositors of the project to stop the ongoing works because the same seems not to be in conformity with the present working conditions and in violation to what had been earlier agreed upon, the elders claimed that stopping the project is not within their jurisdiction as there are regulatory agencies that are in charge of regulating the conduct of mining and other related activities where such issues and concerns should be raised.
ISRI, the TSF panel created by the barangay and the community have been continuously undertaking consultations on the realistic and measurable conditions that will be incorporated in the final MOA that will be signed by representatives of the concerned parties to pave the way for the implementation of the additional 4 meters increase in the dam height of the ISRI’s Sangilo mine to ensure the safety of the community.
On the other hand, the barangay will form a monitoring committee that will be composed of technical people from the community to ensure that the implementation of the company’s dam enhancement project will be in compliance to the project specifications and standards as presented to the community during previous consultations.
Members of the technical team who are from the community appreciated the plans for the firm’s dam enhancement project but underscored the importance of the conduct of close monitoring to ensure that the project will be done pursuant to what had been presented to the community.
Itogon is one of the mining towns in the province that play host to the operation of large-scale and small-scale mining operations for over a decade now.
