After the attack, local agencies care less?

Three days after suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) attacked Phil Alstron Mining Corp.  at Purok 4, barangay Tagmamarkay of Tubay town in Agusan del Norte, there is apparent inaction of local agencies to care on impacts of violence in the region.

In a phone conversation with local officials in Agusan del Norte, none professed full information of the details of the incident despite their proximity in the area.

Both Erma Suyo, provincial civil defense officer IV, and Romina Altorino, part of the secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources in Agusan del Norte, said they still have no accurate information about the mining company attacked by communist guerillas.

“We were not given information from investigating authorities about the attack and we have no information about the mining company either,” said Suyo in a phone conversation on April 7.

Police Inspector Roderick Aranas reported that at about 1 am dawntime on April 5, rebels swooped down at the mining company, strafed, and torched its Sunriser motorcyle, four dump trucks and a backhoe, including the firm's building.

Except the motorcycle, the office and the equipment were partially burned, said Aranas.

“The windshields of the two bulldozers were also strafed,” said Aranas.

The nature of the incident is not new.

In October 3, 2011, the NPA attacked Taganito Mining Corp at around 9 a.m., the 4K Mining at Cadiano village 20-minute thereafter, and another rebel group sieged Thpal Mining, a subsidiary of Taganito Mining at 12:30 p.m. All are located in Surigao del Norte.

Offensives that have inflicted casualties, allegedly authored by rebels, also happened this March 2014 at Managa, Bansalan; Matanao, Davao del Sur; and Magpet of North Cotabato.

This April, CrisisWatch indicated in its conflict map (http://crisisgroup.be/maps/crisiswatch/)  that NPA might intensify its attacks in Mindanao following the recent arrest of two suspected guerilla leaders Benito Tiamzon and Wilma Austria on March 22 in Cebu on charges of murder.

However, despite the incident and other precedent cases, concern local offices  seemed to have left the investigation to police and military authorities.

None correlated the issue to the failure of the government and the communist’s peace panels to pursue peace talks despite repetitive claims done in public that both are interested to resume formal negotiation.

As has been in the past, readers are constantly fed of uncritical information that this issue simply relate to "revolutionary tax collection."

“We have not conducted investigation and have not received exact data on what actually transpired in barangay Tubay,” said Altorino when asked if the office is conducting monitoring of the incident.

Altorino said that Phil Alstron Mining Corp., as a large scale mining company, is possibly doing business relations with the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and DENR offices in Manila but not with local offices.

Altorino likewise denied knowledge on company’s nationality of owners and management or its corporate status “except we know that they are doing exploration at Tubay.”

“They don’t have a website for reference; might be under construction,” she said.

An executive of non-government organization based in Agusan also told this writer that "what they knew was that its San Roque Metal Corporation that was operating in Tubay."

This added now to the confusion.

Online, Google search engine only revealed Alstron PTE Ltd based in Singapore that was delisted in 2008 and another Alstron Mining Corporation in Selangor, Malaysia. The latter is  engaged in gold and copper extraction.

There is no website referring to Phil Alstron Mining Corp.

The Security of Exchange Commission (SEC) however confirmed that Phil Alstron Mining Corp. is a registered company; in fact, it has two on list having the same corporate name.

SEC however didn't showed information about its management and its contact details.

Phil Alstron is not also among the 19 active registered mining and oil multinational companies in the database of Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) doing large scale mining exploration or operation and forex trading relations in the market.

PSE has only recorded Abra Mining and Industrial Corporation, Apex Mining Co., Inc., Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corporation, Atok-Big Wedge Co., Inc., Benguet Corporation, Century Peak Metals Holdings Corporation, Coal Asia Holdings Incorporated, Dizon Copper-Silver Mines, Inc., GEOGRACE Resources Philippines, Inc., Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company, Manila Mining Corporation, Marcventures Holdings, Inc., NiHAO Mineral Resources International, Inc., Nickel Asia Corporation, Omico Corporation, Oriental Peninsula Resources Group, Inc., Philex Mining Corporation, Semirara Mining Corporation, and United Paragon Mining Corporation.

A number of these companies are operating in Northern Mindanao and in Zamboanga Peninsula.