Mining groups band together

MVP Group Media Bureau head Mike Toledo informed us that several mining companies have banded together to help in the recovery efforts for victims of the killer quake that ravaged Bohol, with more than 2,000 aftershocks already recorded. Several emergency response teams spearheaded by Philex Mining of Benguet, Philsaga Mining of Davao, Carmen Copper of Cebu and Limestone Corp. of Bohol were deployed to several areas, bringing hydraulic equipment (pump, spreader, cutter, ram), demolition hammers, harnesses, hook bars, rotating cutters, spine boards, breathing apparatus, First Aid kit as well as a generator set to assist in the recovery efforts.

Rescue and recovery teams from government and private volunteer groups are racing against time to search for victims, with the death toll now over 200. The team of miners camped out at the Bayong Falls in Sagbayan – a landslide area that was one of the hardest hit – hoping to find some missing children who reportedly went to the waterfalls when the 7.2 magnitude earthquake occurred last Tuesday.

Mike said all expenses for the rescue and recovery operations – from the transport of people and equipment dispatch and other logistical requirements  – are being shouldered by the mining companies as part of their corporate social responsibility, with several municipalities in Bohol such as Tagbilaran,  Maribojoc, Loon, Antequera and Tubigon having been served by the mining teams so far. Being well trained in the recovery of ore from underground, the miners are certainly qualified and well equipped in the recovery of victims buried under the rubble due to landslides or earthquakes.

A very staunch anti-mining advocate actually called me to say he heard about the dispatch of a team of miners to Bohol – acknowledging that “meron naman palang gamit sa mining (there’s use for mining after all).”

Mila Drilon explains

At the wake of my brother, Dr. Quasi, Mrs. Mila Drilon, wife of Senate President Frank Drilon, explained to me the circumstances surrounding the controversy involving alleged pork barrel scam queen Janet Lim Napoles. Mila told me she only got to know Janet Napoles because of her involvement in church work, helping one of the monsignors in providing scholarships to students who want to enter the priesthood. She said the monsignor, whom she knew quite well, was actually the one who introduced her to Napoles during a fund raising event for seminary scholars.

Mrs. Drilon, who hails from Baao in San Jose, Camarines Sur, vehemently denies any involvement in the pork scandal attributed to Napoles, saying that she is busy with her own work for various charitable groups and foundations. Mila Drilon is actually well known for her involvement with the Philippine Foundation for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled where she sits as chairman of the Apolinario Mabini Awards Committee. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Metrobank Foundation, and is currently the chair of the Senate Spouses Foundation.

Mila was a schoolmate of my elder sister at St. Scholastica’s College, a conservative school founded by German sisters.  Graduates of the school are known for their upright character, and whose upbringing is deeply rooted in the Catholic faith. One of the most famous graduates of the school was no less than the late President Cory Aquino, described as a “true Scholastican” – a principled woman who lived up to the core values of the Catholic faith.

US patent wars

The patents war between Apple and Samsung as well as Google has just entered a new phase with the US Patent and Trademarks Office’s reversal of an earlier decision that ruled as “invalid” a multi-touch patent credited to Apple inventors that include the late Steve Jobs. In December last year, the USPTO received an ex parte/anonymous request – believed to have been instigated by either Samsung or Google or both companies – for a review of Apple’s US Patent that contains over 300 images of touch screen interface for smartphones.

Obviously, the move backfired because the review resulted in the reaffirmation of more than two-dozen Apple patents – collectively called the “Steve Jobs Patents – that date back to 2006, giving the US company fresh ammunition in the ongoing legal battle against Samsung and Google. Samsung in particular is still reeling from a recent decision by the US international Trade Commission that slapped an import ban against several Samsung products that reportedly infringed on Apple patents.

The news was certainly very welcome to Apple shareholders who were getting antsy over reports that iPhone 5C sales were not as impressive as expected. The 5C, with its colorful plastic appearance, is the lower end version of the iPhone 5s, with both units simultaneously launched into the market just last month. The latest quarterly report from Verizon however also disclosed very positive sales figures, with 51 percent of the 7.6 million smartphone units activated by the US telecoms company said to be Apple iPhones. Apple executives dispelled the negative reports claiming the iPhone 5C was a flop and that the company was cutting orders, saying they expect sales to kick up for the lower end Apple smartphone during the Christmas Holidays’ shopping season. 

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