Bulacan folk demand removal of armed men in mine site

DOÑA REMEDIOS TRINI­DAD, Bulacan – Officials and residents of this mountain town demanded the removal of armed security guards belonging to the security agency of retired Army General Jovito Palparan that took over an iron ore mining site last month. As this developed, Palparan complained that his men were trapped in the mining site after the road that passes through a private property was closed last week.

Vice Mayor Liberato Sem­brano of this town told The STAR that he owns the property leading to the mining site and it was leased by Ore Asia and Development Corp. (Ore Asia) who established a checkpoint and closed the road last week.

Ore Asia, is one of the mining contractors of the Oro Development Corp. (Odeco) owned by the Soriano family which obtained a mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA) for the 442-hectare land from the government. “They closed the road for security reasons since there are armed men that have been going back and forth to the mining site,” Sem­bra­no said in the vernacular. He said there is an ongoing legal battle between members of Odeco for the right to operate on the 442 hectare iron ore mining site.

On April 12, some 150 heavily armed men allegedly led by Palparan entered the Ore Asia stockyard and took over its operations, but immediately left when mediamen came the next day. However, some 20 armed security guards from Palparan’s security agency are still holed up in the mining site.

Last week, armed men on board three trucks supposedly to reinforce their comrades in the mining site were stopped by security guards of Ore Asia at a checkpoint at Sitio Dayap here. The armed men were said to have temporarily settled near the former stockyard of Matatag Mining Corp. not far from the Ore Asia checkpoint.