Mining company gets top education stakeholder award

MANILA, Philippines - Responsible minerals development company Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI), the Philippine contractor for the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project, was honored as the 2010 Outstanding Stakeholder in Education by the Department of Education (DepEd) for the company’s immense contribution to various education programs in Region 12, specifically in the provinces of Saranggani, South Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat. The award has been acknowledged as unprecedented in terms of its nature and its recipient company and industry. No other mining company in the Philippines has been cited as an outstanding stakeholder in the education sector.

In its citation, the DepEd has taken note of SMI’s contribution of at least P14 million worth of scholarships for thousands of elementary, secondary, and tertiary students, mostly from impoverished tribal communities in South Cotabato.

SMI has also joined with DepEd Region 12 in facilitating several projects in the region related to education. These projects include the implementation of the Indigenous People (IP) Curriculum in Tampakan, South Cotabato, the construction of school buildings, and the production of textbooks and other school materials for schools in the said region.

In addition to this, SMI has also pursued other education related programs such as wage subsidies for teachers, oratorical and storytelling competition for students, book donations through the Democratizing Reading Among Mindanaon (DReAM) Children Project, and the conduct of adult literacy classes.