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What Philex Mining Company should know on its 47th year

by Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) - Cordillera

19 March 2005

It is ironic for one to declare itself being humane when it obviously treats others unjustly.

The Philex Mining Corporation (Philex) deserves strong condemnations on its move to evict its workers who gave much of their sweat and blood to extract all the gold ores of the earth for the company’s profit.

The Philex gave the workers until April 15 to vacate their quarters, which is within Philex premises. The arrogance of Philex in acting like a supreme owner of the land is unimaginable. For all we know, Philex has all the mining claims under the blessings of the present administration through the passage of mining laws. Workers have established their dwellings in these areas even before Philex operated.

Philex, on its of 47th year, should be grateful to its workers for their hard labor. Their employees, especially the rank-and-file, worked hard, losing limbs and lives for company. All the while, employees and their families lived in the poorest conditions in the mine camp. And while its workers lived on in such dismal conditions, the company amassed profit by the millions.

Contrary to its claims, Philex’s labor management was never “cordial” nor “harmonious” as the company claimed. Philex has unjustly retrenched many of its workers, and they said it was due to heavy losses. With the legal process yet undetermined over the employer-employee relationships, Philex acts as if it were above the law.

It is so mysterious how the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) has awarded Philex for its “Environmental Management System” after all the unaccountable damages the company incurred to the surroundings of Padcal and other barangays of Tuba and even to the neighboring municipalities of Benguet.

Philex should be criticized when it says that it has always been an “active advocate” of community development. Philex was never been committed to support and develop its host and neighboring communities, much more its employees.

As far as the people of Benguet and the workers are concerned, Philex’s 47 years of mining are nothing but years of environmental denudation, community displacement, destruction of properties and livelihood, and labor exploitation.

The denial of the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) by Regional Trial Court Branch 62 Judge Fernando Cabato filed by the affected residents will boost the already over-confident attitude of Philex to carry out its eviction program. The labor dispute between the workers and Philex is still to be decided by the National Labor Relation Commission (NLRC-DOLE) in Manila as the retrenched employees filed an appeal after an unfavorable decision by the Labor Arbiter of NLRC-CAR. And whatever the decision, it will still be subjected to the Supreme Court.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Benguet should enforce its political will over the eviction moves of Philex against its workers. The SP should maintain its authority as Philex operates in its backyard. It should warn the company from committing such acts against the Benguet people.

These workers also deserve a good life. They also have the rights to shape their future. They too have the right to fight for their human rights. #

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