by JMD Abangan

Davao City (27 February) -- Bidding for the 728 hectares small scale mining area of the 8,100-hectare gold-rush in Mt Diwalwal has been cancelled.

Newly installed president of the former Natural Resources and Mining Development Corporation (NRMDEC) Oliver Butalid revealed the latest development as he bared the new name of his office.

Taking oath of office only on February 7, Butalid in an inter-agency meeting said the "confusingly similar" NRMDC will soon be changed into Philippine Mining Development Corporation (PMDC).

The change in name has gotten the nod of the corporation board which is just waiting for the final approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). "It is good as approved and hopefully within one month, SEC will finally approve it," he said during the Project Monitoring and Coordination Center (PMCC) meeting.

Sharing his development framework for Diwalwal, he found it not conducive to Diwalwal mining if left in the hands of investors who might not "have the patience and tenacity to deal with the issues" hounding the gold-rush.

He agreed that the government might not be as much efficient in handling mining investment compared with private investors but "that is not without exemption." "Government can go into business for strategic intent," he explained.

He believed that if government's presence in the area would find social relevance, it "could not skirt from such responsibility."

Butalid vowed to be "very sensitive" with the indigenous peoples who held ancestral rights over the gold-rush and to find a meaningful participation of the small scale miners" in showcasing Diwalwal as a goldmine operated by the government.

Meanwhile, Butalid had in mind to reinvest profits drawn out of the government mining project to the community especially in key infrastructures and social interventions.

"The PMDC, if it earns, ought to be ready to reinvest," he said.

He also wanted that government operates as a benchmark of "best practices which other miners can look at," following legal rules and policies in mining operation.

Butalid said he had been going down the local level, meeting stakeholders of Mt. Diwalwal mining especially the miners and the IPs.

He concluded that Diwalwal "is not such a irreconcilable case," noting that stakeholders all expressed a "can do attitude and willingness."