TUBA, Benguet – The municipal council passed a resolution recognizing the Pangilinan-owned Philex Mining Corporation as a nation builder because of the company’s enormous contributions to community development, particularly in its host and neighboring communities, and to the country’s economy.
Resolution No. 181, series of 2016, which was obtained by Herald Express from the local government, cited that the mining company is one of the top taxpayers of the municipality and a prevent implementer of its corporate social responsibility through its social development and management program (SDMP) since it started its operations six decades ago.
The Resolution stated ‘Philex Mining Corporation, through its numerous soft and hard projects spread over its 60 years of existence, contributed much to the development not onoy of its host and neighboring communities but also the country as a whole.
According to the resolution, the presence of the company in the community contributed to the alleviation of the economic status of the people, the workers and their families and the local government units primarily because of the prompt payment of taxes and fees which were subsequently used to implement more development projects in their respective places as well as enhance the delivery of basic services to the people.
“Philex, being one among the numerous industries established in the locality, is acknowledged as one of the dependable partners of the local government of Tuba in its objective to advance a better living condition of its local residents,” the resolution added.
Mayor Ignacio Rivera claimed if not for the sustained operation of Philex over the past several decades, the local government could not have been classified as a first-class municipality.
“Philex was also able to prove its reputation as one of the most efficient and effective allies of the local government during times of disasters because of the availability of its well-trained safety personnel who actively participate in disaster response and relief operations not only within its area of coverage but also in other localities that need their expertise,” Rivera stressed.
He pointed out the contributions of Philex to the overall development of its host and neighboring communities could not actually be quantified because what is more important is that thousands of local residents were able to realize a significant improvement in their living conditions primarily due to the intervetions that were put in place by the mining through the years of its existence in the said mining community.
Mayor Rivera explained Philex did not only make available jobs for qualified local residents, sources of livelihood for the people living in host and neighboring communities, significant improvement of the state of infrastructure in the different parts of the municipality and its making sure that there will be sustainable economic activities within the host and neighboring communities even beyond the life of the largest gold and copper producer in the country.
By HENT