Oceana Gold says it didn't commit human rights violations

Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya – Beleaguered Australian mining firm OceanaGold Philippines (OGP) continue to disprove allegations that it has committed human rights violations in Didipio, Kasibu, site of its multi-billion peso gold-copper mining area. This came after Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chair Leila M. De Lima - in a memorandum released Wednesday - ordered CHR-Region 2 to hold an inquiry on the alleged human rights violations committed by OGP against indigenous people living in the area. Chito Gozar, OGP’s Vice President for Communications & External Affairs said Thursday that the company is aware of a recent media report regarding an inquiry to the Didipio Project by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). However, he added that "Although, we have not been officially notified that there is any truth to the existence of such report, OceanaGold continues to abide by the terms of the FTAA permit for the Didipio Gold Copper project and is actively engaged with our many stakeholders at the local, provincial and national level." “We welcome future dialogue with the CHR office and will continue to have ongoing discussions with the many interested government departments like CHR regarding the Didipio project," he said. Among the allegations reported by various sectors is the illegal demolition of about 187 houses by OGP personnel. It has been alleged that the demolition pushed through without any court order or relocation sites readied for the affected families. This was disputed by OGP which asserted that the demolished houses were located inside the mining’s impact zone and covered by Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) awarded by the government. The alleged violations were cited in a report prepared by the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocate (PAHRA) and Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM). The mining firm’s activities has recently been suspended by the company’s headquarters in Australia owing to various issues and legal problems hounding its operations, among them is the ongoing impasse with the provincial government. The stand-off was the result of the issuance of Governor Ma. Luisa Cuaresma’s Cease and Desist Order last April due to OGP’s non-payment of quarry taxes amounting to about P30 million. OGP retaliated by charging Cuaresma with graft and corruption, grave coercion and abuse of authority before the Ombudsman. The tax issue has also been refuted by the Australian firm saying that they are exempted from paying taxes to the local government as embodied in the FTAA. OGP is also the subject of an ongoing congressional inquiry about an “illegal detention" incident earlier last month by the Quirino police on the members of House Committee on Cultural Minorities. The congressmen, led by Nueva Vizcaya Representative Carlos Padilla, were en-route to the mining site to conduct an inquiry on the reported human rights abuses by the mining firm when they were “suspiciously" flagged down by the police. Meanwhile, Cuaresma said the CHR inquiry is a “very welcome development since this may pave the way to exonerate my name and the people of Nueva Vizcaya who are fighting for an equitable share from our lands wealth and treasures." - GMANews.TV