Pro-mining Vizcaya village official slain

 BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – A village official in Kasibu town has been killed after trying to mediate in a tax dispute between an Australian mining project and the provincial government, police said yesterday.

Neighbors found the bloodied body of 55-year-old Paul Baguilat, head of the mountain village of Didipio, late Thursday in a forest between the village and the gold-copper exploration site of Australian mining firm Oceana Gold Philippines.

Police believe he was killed by at least one gunshot wound.

Chief Inspector Peter Cambri, Nueva Vizcaya police director, said authorities were checking whether the killing was linked to the mine dispute.

Baguilat’s wife Elma hinted that she knew why her husband was killed, but added: “Speaking out here is dangerous.”

Earlier this week, Baguilat’s group issued a manifesto supporting the mining venture.

Vice Gov. Jose Gambito condemned the killing and appealed for calm in the now deeply divided village of Didipio, some three hours from this capital town.

Provincial officials arrived at the mine site Thursday with orders to shut it down from Gov. Luisa Lloren-Cuaresma, who claimed that Oceana Gold owes local taxes and quarrying fees, the company said.

The mine site manager rejected the order, citing a ruling last week by the national government that the tax demand was illegal, the mine’s assistant general manager Gil Maglaque said.

Oceana Gold officials and Cuaresma’s representatives then held talks at the Didipio village hall with Baguilat as mediator.

But the talks were inconclusive and the local officials left after failing to shut down the mine, Maglaque added.

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza earlier warned Cuaresma that she was “treading on illegal grounds.”

But the governor remained unfazed. “They can even bring me to jail. I’m ready to defend the interest of the province,” she said.

The $320-million Didipio project, in a mountain range near Kasibu, employs many of Baguilat’s neighbors for mine construction activities ahead of production, which is scheduled to start in 2010.

Baguilat was also a former Oceana Gold employee who quit last year to run for public office, his widow said.

Oceana Gold describes the deposits as “one of the highest grade gold-copper porphyries in the world,” and the government is expecting some $700 million in tax revenues over the mine’s life span.

The government expects the mining sector to grow five-fold in the next four years, with cumulative new investments expected to rise to $10.4 billion by 2011.