Our longtime partners, Philsaga Mining Corporation (PMC) and Mindanao Mineral Processing and Refining Corporation (MMPRC) continue to provide frontline assistance to the communities in and around their operating sites in Agusan and Surigao in the form of mass testing, PPE and test kits distribution, food and water delivery, and transport service for locally-stranded individuals.
Philsaga Mining Corporation conducts free testing for employees
UPERDFI member, Atty. Raul Villanueva, the president of the two companies, frames their engaged involvement on their by-line, TIGER, which means Teamwork, Integrity, Growth, Excellence and Responsibility. He further cites:
“It is difficult to manage the health and safety of almost 5,000 workers at the minesite. Expenses for regular mass testing, random testing, quarantine, protective gears, hospital & office sanitations, etc. and support to LGUs, nearby communities and checkpoints are staggering. We also had to mass-test the host communities (about 9,000 individuals). These are, however, necessary expenditures and exercises to keep everyone Covid-safe and keep operations going. We have had a few incidents of Covid infection, but the individuals were immediately isolated, quarantined, treated and now cured.”
PMC and MMPRC have been sponsoring scholarships and student projects in the UP College of Engineering since 2013. After graduation, the benefits include allowances for the PRC Board Review. Even without a return-service clause, their scholars who are now licensed Mining and Met Engineers have joined the company to start their professional careers. On his personal account, Raul set up the Atty. Raul C. Villanueva Professorial Chair in Engineering in 2014.
We encourage our members to provide us with their stories, which we will include in our upcoming blasts.
