MAYOR John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña urged the Philippine-Extractive Industry Transparency Inc. (Ph-EITI) to facilitate the release of the Social Responsibility Fund (SRF) from Carmen Copper Corp. (CCC) to the treasurer of Toledo City.

Osmeña said that some P200 million in SRF is being held by CCC instead of remitting it to the City.

He said that the SRF should not only be for the two barangays hosting the mining operation but for the entire city, because the wastes from CCC flow to the Sapangdaku River and affect the entire city.

Osmeña was a panelist at the Ph-EITI Roadshow in the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu with the theme “Moving beyond transparency: Integrating extractives disclosure and dialogue in local development.”

Engineer Armando Malicse, chief of the Mine Safety, Environment and Social Development Division of the Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau (MGB) 7, said he will look into the matter.

Malicse represented the government agency while Osmeña represented the local government unit in the panel discussion.

Osmeña said he was informed by Ph-EITI that the funds will be given to the two villages where CCC operates.

“Why only two barangays when the whole Toledo City is affected? That money should go to the trust fund of Toledo City for us to distribute to all the communities. The MGB 7 and the Ph-EITI must do that in the name of transparency,” he said last Tuesday. (EOB)