Like the classic passage, "Give them food and they will live for a day. Teach them how to fish and they will live forever", the mining firm King-king Copper Gold Project just did that.

Close to 100T pesos-worth of community assistance was extended by the King-king Copper - Gold Project (KCGP) on Wednesday, Jan 15, 2014 to the people of Pantukan.These include farming equipment and tools, office tables, and construction materials for village halls.

Clyde Gillespie, Country Manager/ Director for Environmental Permitting , with Jonathan Banez, Community Development Manager, both of St. Augustine Gold & Copper Ltd. (SAGCL) led the turnovers to various community partners of the project.

KCGP is a partnership between Nationwide Development Corporation (Nadecor) and St. Augustine Gold & Copper Ltd. (SAGCL) wherein the two companies are working together to develop the project while partnering with the community to meet the needs of Pantukan.

In Sitio Taytayan, a village in Brgy Magnaga, where residents are mostly from the Mansaka tribe, and also where the Project handed tools for farming, Gillespie, in a short program said, "We will continue to look into opportunities to help you (IPs), with us putting high regard and respect to your culture and values. It is very important to partner with you as we strive to develop the project" "I hope this equipment would help you with your farming and bring more yield come harvest time", Gillespie added. Elmer Pacio, the village's tribal councilman, expressed his being happy that KCGP did not fail to include them as one of the community project recipients.

"Dako akong pasalamat nga natagad sa kompanya ang among request. Kini pagpakita nga ang kompanya mahigugmaon sa mga lumulupyo, dili lamang dinhi kundi sa uban pang mga lugar sa Pantukan, kay akong nahibal-an nga ubay-ubay napud ang inyong natabangan. Naa gyud mo kanunay"(I have my biggest gratitude to the company for they did not forget our request. This only shows how much they value us and others, which I know they've also helped. You've always been there (for us)", Pacio said.

Other recipients who received assistance on Wednesday were Purok Rexan Brgy. Napnapan with a water system, the Moral Recovery Program (MRP) of the local government unit with 2 office tables; People's Effort Against Crime Expansion (PEACE), a non-civic group with 1 unit sound system; and Purok l Soysoy Tribal Council with construction materials for the IPs village halls.

Source:http://www.edgedavao.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14021:community-assistance-continue-to-pour-in-for-pantukan-villages&catid=40:suburbia&Itemid=59