(First of two parts)
KASIBU, Nueva Vizcaya—As the mining debate raged across the country in the last few months, an interesting phenomenon unfolded in Barangay Didipio in this town over the last 27 years.
Unknown to many, the positive and negative publicity about mining has catapulted this previously isolated village into a “destination” for some people, following the arguments in social media and in the academe.
“People are always mystified with gold, and Didipio has been an interesting place to visit since the Ifugao people rushed here to engage in alluvial gold panning in the early ’80s,” a longtime resident, who requested anonymity, told Manila Standard.
Separate studies made by Aldersgate College of Solano, Nueva Vizcaya and the University of the Philippines Los Baños Foundation confirmed the gold rush in the 1980s and the subsequent large-scale mining operation attracted migrants to Didipio.
Some visitors from as far as Metro Manila saw the boom and decided to stay for good, to make a living out of the emerging economic opportunities.
When Asia-Pacific miner OceanaGold started its commercial operation in Didipio in 2013, the company opened its doors to visitors who wished to tour the mines. Seeing the positive impact of being transparent about its operations, the company decided to acquire a mini-bus to transport interested groups to visit the mine.
To date, close 10,000 mine tour participants have been recorded in the Didipio mine’s visitors log.
Didipio became a popular place because people debating about the pros and cons of mining started to challenge one another on Facebook. “Have you been there? Are you sure you know what you are talking about?” has been challenging dare that netizens always get when they argue for or against mining. This dare has drawn a lot of visitors to Didipio since the late ’90s.
Environmental groups planned different ways to visit Didipio. They usually avoided coordinating with the mining company, and some coordinated with the barangay government.
Bicycle enthusiasts organized weekend trips to Didipio in packs of 50 to 100 riders. Off-road enthusiasts like the group of Rep. Dax Cua of Quirino province toured Didipio on their all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes.
Local sari-sari stores were happy to sell refreshments and snacks to these people, and they earned extra income from the visitors.
Didipio mine is very close to the Alayan Caves in neighboring Barangay Capisaan, an outdoor adventure destination the provincial government of Nueva Vizcaya has promoted since 1998. People going to Capisaan always include Didipio in their itinerary because of the media mileage the mine received.
(Continued Monday)