|
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Mining contractor killed in ambush
GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- An official of a drilling company was killed while two others were hurt when unidentified armed men fired at them Saturday in the village of Tablu in Tampakan, South Cotabato.
Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI) corporate communications manager John Arnaldo said the victim was a supervisor of United Philippines Drilling (UPD) Inc., a private company hired by SMI to drill potential gold and copper ore deposits in the 23,000-hectare Swiss-controlled mining firm.
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
SMI declined to identify the slain supervisor and two others who were wounded in the ambush pending notification of their respective next of kin.
Arnaldo likewise failed to identify the suspects, saying the company has already coordinated with local police in the investigation.
Police reports, however, identified the slain supervisor as one Leonardo Impong. His companions, whose names are still unavailable, were brought to a local hospital and are reportedly in stable condition.
The New People's Army (NPA), a rural-based Maoist insurgent group, is known to operate in the area and has issued several warnings against the company and its continued drilling and exploration activities.
On New Year's Day this year, some 40 fully armed NPA rebels raided the main base camp of SMI also in Tablu and burned down the company's administration building.
The rebels also disarmed the security guards manning the camp and abducted a militiaman in a nearby village as they escaped.
The rebels reportedly later killed the said militiaman.
UPD has conducted the drilling activities of SMI for over three years now.
Most of its foreign consultants are Australian nationals.
South Cotabato Provincial Police Director Robert Kiunisala said they are looking at other angles as possible motives of the crime including personal grudges.
Several villagers in Barangay Tablu and nearby villages were arrested and briefly detained middle of this year after South Cotabato Governor Daisy Vance-Fuentes ordered a stop on illegal small-scale mining activities in the area.
Fuentes ordered the closure of small-scale mining operations after reports in June from the Provincial Environment Management Office (Pemo) revealed that mercury levels in the mining site have considerably increased.
Pemo chief Ramon Ponce de Leon said mercury contamination was confirmed in portions of the Pula Bato River based on water quality tests conducted by SMI since last year.
The subsequent arrest of 26 small-scale miners triggered several protest actions from villagers who demanded employment from SMI and culminated in a barricade in September that prevented company employees from accessing their drill site and core farm. (Edwin G. Espejo of Sun.star Davao/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cebu. (December 23, 2008 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Aytona advised firm to bloat fertilizer price