St. Louis studes to represent Philex cluster in MGB contests
Kenneth Balbin, a senior at Saint Louis High School-Philex, at Brgy. Camp 3, in Tuba, Benguet, wins first prize in the MGB poster-making contest on Oct. 25 | BF
St. Louis studes to represent Philex cluster in MGB contests
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
‘Mining has been a blessing to me’
Two students of Saint Louis High School-Philex (SLHS-Philex) will represent the cluster assigned by government regulators to Philex Mining Corp. in on-the-spot contests on essay writing and poster making, respectively, during a mine safety and environment forum in Baguio City in November.
This develops as Jazlyn Villanueva and Kenneth Balbin, both seniors at SLHS-Philex, in Tuba town•s Brgy. Camp 3, won first prizes for their respective essay and poster entries in contests conducted at Philex Mining•s Padcal Mines on Oct. 25. They bested the other contestants from Ampucao National High School (ANHS) and Twin Peaks National High School (TPNHS).
- Mining has been a blessing to me,• Ms. Villanueva says in her essay titled Pusong Philex.•Without it, I would have found myself struggling to cope with the stress of my parents budgeting money for water, electrical, and food consumption. I would have seen myself in a typical public school, with 40-50 students in a small classroom.•
Jazlyn Villanueva, a senior at Saint Louis High School-Philex, at Brgy. Camp 3, in Tuba, Benguet, writing an essay on paying it forward in a mining community that eventually won first prize on Oct. 25 | BF
The contestants were asked to write a formal essay or make a poster in one hour with the theme, •An Opportunity to Give Something Back.• They got the materials they needed free-of-charge from Philex Mining, while the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), which regulates the mining industry, provided the mechanics for the contests.
- You are all winners already, having been chosen to participate in these contests,• Remy Ortega, community-affairs officer at MGB-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), in Baguio City, told the students after the awarding ceremonies. •May these contests hone your skills in essay writing or poster making, and make you understand further what responsible mining is all about.•
In an earlier statement, Ms. Ortega said the MGB-CAR decided to hold these contests as a challenge to students to speak up for the mining industry, which has done so much for the social and economic progress in Benguet province.
Ms. Villanueva and Mr. Balbin will represent Cluster 3 against Clusters 1 and 2, which have been assigned to other mining companies operating in Benguet, in the championship round to be held on the sidelines of the 60th Annual National Mine Safety and Environment Conference, in Baguio City on Nov. 19 • 22.
Gemma Palina and Cliton Binalay, a senior and a junior respectively at ANHS, in Brgy. Ampucao, Itogon, clinched the second prizes for their respective essay and poster, while the third prizes went to Jordan Palista (poster making) and Angelica Mendoza (essay writing), of TPNHS, in Brgy. Twin Peaks, Tuba.
The participants in the Oct. 25 contests comprised the top 3 among the five sets of winners in competitions conducted earlier in five high schools in Tuba and Itogon, which host Philex Mining•s Padcal operations in Benguet.