The Mines and Geosciences Bureau Regional Office No. XIII spearheaded the Safety and Health, Environment and Social Development (SHES) Manual Roll-out on November 11-12, 2021 via Zoom Platform.   

The two-day activity aimed to capacitate the participants in line with the program outlines and guidelines of the said manual in compliance with MGB Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2021-006 in order to ensure a standardized implementation of management measures in addressing the safety and health, environmental and social attributes inherent in exploration/mining/mineral processing operations.

The said activity was attended by Mine Safety, Environment and Social Development Division (MSESDD) and Mine Management Division (MMD) personnel of MGB Regional Office Nos. III and XIII who are expected to be equipped with the program outlines and guidelines of the said manual virtually discussed by the technical personnel of MGB Central Office.  

The program formally commenced with the Welcome Remarks of Engr. Marcial H. Mateo, MSESDD Chief of MGB Central Office, and Messages from Engr. Larry M. Heradez, OIC-Regional Director of MGB Caraga, and Engr. Lauro S. Garcia Jr., on behalf of Engr. Alilo C. Ensomo Jr., Regional Director of MGB Regional Office No. III.

Afterwards, discussions on the guidelines of Environmental Work Program (EWP), Environmental Protection and Enhancement Program (EPEP) and Final Mine Rehabilitation and/or Decommissioning Plan (FMR/DP) were presented by Engr. Ivy Kimberly Batecan, Engr. Jade Mark L. Santos, Engr. Genesis D. Madera and For. Teodorico L. Marquez Jr. during the morning session. In the afternoon, discussions on the annotated outline of EWP, EPEP and Annual EPEP and FMR/DP were then presented by Engr. Danny P. Berches, Engr. Celeste S. Aquino and For. Teodorico L. Marquez Jr., respectively.

The first day of the activity wrapped up with the issues and concerns raised by the participants of MGB Regional Office No. XIII in connection with the presented topics that were likewise explained by the presenters.

For the second day, Engr. Queeniebeth L. Plaza gave a recap of the first day of the activity which was then followed by the presentations of guidelines and outline of Social Development and Management Program that were discussed by Mr. Gilbert L. Aquino and For. Glaiza B. del Rosario. For the afternoon session, presentations of guidelines and outline of the Safety and Health Program was tackled by Engr. Rio Katipunan and Engr. Robert Glicer M. Domingo. All of the issues and concerns for each session were clearly discussed by the presenters as well. With the program outlines and guidelines stipulated in the SHES Manual, the said activity capacitated the participants to properly monitor the minerals industry as to the implementation of management measure programs in line with MC No. 2021-006.

By: Elaiza Ruth D. Diamos
Monitoring Officer
Mine Safety, Environment and Social Development Division