Naga City officials commend Carmen Copper for sending rescuers, aid for Tinaan landslide victims

Members of the Minero Emergency Response Team (MERT) of Carmen Copper Corporation that helped in the search and rescue operations following a massive landslide that affected Barangay Tinaan, Naga City on September 20, 2018. /Contributed Photo

TOLEDO CITY, Philippines – The city government of Naga, Cebu commended Carmen Copper Corporation for sending emergency responders and relief aid to the city following a landslide that caused the death of more than 80 persons and displaced hundreds of families in Sitio Sindulan, Barangay Tinaan.

In its resolution No. 040-Q-2018, Naga City Mayor Kristine Vanessa T. Chiong and the City Council expressed their profound gratitude and appreciation to Carmen Copper for dispatching a team of responders during the September 20, 2018 landslide.

“The professionalism, commitment and dedication to duty of the company’s responding team truly demonstrated the time-honored “Bayanihan” spirit of the Filipinos and, thus, deserving meritorious recognition by the top management of this mining firm,” the resolution reads.

“The sense of gratitude of the entire officialdom of the City of Naga and the Nagahanons is hereby sincerely conveyed to the top management, key officials and rank-and-file workers of Carmen Copper Corporation for the company’s noble effort in extending a hand in the midst of the city’s most trying times.”

Chiong personally paid a visit to Carmen Copper last February 14 to hand over a copy of the resolution to Carmen Copper President and CEO Roy O. Deveraturda. Chiong and the staff of the City Information, Communications and Relations Office (CICRO) also took a tour of the mines and the Carmen Copper Heritage Center for a mine and heritage benchmarking.

Naga City Mayor Kristine Vanessa T. Chiong (4th from right) during a mine and museum tour at Carmen Copper Corporation compound on February 14, 2019. /Contributed Photo

Last September, a team of well-trained rescuers and emergency responders comprising of 22 Carmen Copper employees was sent to Sitio Sindulan, Barangay Tinaan, City of Naga to assist in the search, rescue and retrieval operations in the aftermath of a massive landslide that hit the city.

Carmen Copper also distributed drinking water and relief assistance to the displaced families then staying at the different evacuation centers.

The Minero Emergency Response Team’s mission lasted for 17 days until the end of all search and retrieval efforts. The company recognized these responders for demonstrating volunteerism and for having contributed to the overall healing process of the families whose loved ones perished in the incident.

Under the Chamber of Mines’ Pusong Minero campaign, Carmen Copper, as a responsible mining company, responds to calamities and disasters by sending aid and assistance in various forms like relief goods, search and rescue efforts and engineering assistance to disaster-hit areas.

In February 2017, following a magnitude 6.7 earthquake in Surigao, Carmen Copper sent a team of engineers and rescuers to assist in the structural assessment of buildings and help in the search and rescue operations. The same team was sent to Ormoc, Leyte when an earthquake devastated the city in July of the same year./dcb