The country’s premiere annual “red carpet” for excellence in environmental management and safety once again shone on TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc. (TVIRD), as its Siana Gold Project and Balabag Gold and Silver Project both clinched the coveted Presidential Mineral Industry Environment Award (PMIEA).
The awards were conferred at the CAP Convention Center on November 21, capping the weeklong Annual National Mine Safety and Environment Conference (ANSMEC), which drew thousands of participants from across the extractive sector and allied industries.
This year’s strong turnout reflects a renewed momentum for Philippine mining — buoyed by stronger global demand and a new fiscal regime that has helped rebuild confidence in a sector long held at arm’s length.
For TVIRD, the recognition reinforces its commitment to building healthy, resilient host communities whose livelihood, education and social infrastructure continue to rise alongside its operations.
“The burden of responsibility is bequeathed upon a mining company… We embrace this responsibility and have integrated this into our plans for overall development,” said TVIRD President Michael G. Regino.
Honor begets responsibility
For the TVIRD Group, the twin awards mark yet another milestone in a long history of safety and environmental citations. Its pioneering Canatuan Gold-Silver/Copper-Zinc Project was a Platinum and Titanium awardee, while the Agata Nickel Laterite Project secured the Presidential Award three times and later earned an ASEAN Mineral Award — its first international distinction.
“The burden of responsibility is bequeathed upon a mining company when it operates in the hinterlands. Over time, communities grow reliant on the company,” Regino explained.
“Where employment is a mutual covenant, the mining company simply needs to broaden its support during extraordinary situations like the pandemic… We embrace this responsibility and have integrated this into our plans for overall development.”
Greenstone’s road to sustainability
Since taking over Greenstone Resources Corporation in 2021, TVIRD has pursued a sustainability roadmap for the Siana Gold Project in Surigao del Norte. But a major setback struck in May 2024 when TSF3 gave way amid frequent seismic activity and bad weather.
Quick coordination between Greenstone’s responders and barangay officials ensured residents were evacuated well before the break. As a result, the incident recorded zero casualties and zero injuries.
Surigao del Norte Gov. Robert Lyndon Barbers commended the company’s swift evacuation efforts and affirmed the safety protocols in place.
A year later, fortified TSF3 embankments now stand beside an ornamental park honoring the team whose decisive actions averted disaster. A relocated housing project also shelters former residents of Barangay Siana, with livelihoods and employment restored. “…a company will not be judged by the onset of a crisis, but rather, to the degree to which it responds and takes responsibility for it.”
The crisis prompted a full review of safety systems and galvanized Greenstone to transform environmental management into a point of excellence. The company strengthened its ISO 14001:2015–anchored framework, reclaimed disturbed lands, and aligned operations with national and global sustainability goals.
“Before the (awards) validation, we told ourselves that this comeback is personal — not just to me, not just to the management, but to each employee who witnessed the challenges we hurdled,” said Greenstone President and General Manager Engr. Anthony B. Quijano. “With our grit… every job we do is a self-portrait of who we are.”
Balabag transforms an entire community
The Balabag Project in Bayog, Zamboanga del Sur began under difficult circumstances. Long before TVIRD’s entry, the area had been ravaged by decades of unregulated artisanal mining that left Balabag Hill pitted and polluted.
TVIRD’s first task was massive cleanup: stabilizing dangerous mine shafts and detoxifying waterways contaminated with cyanide, mercury and nitric acid. Winning over the abanteros proved more challenging, as many were accustomed to risky but potentially lucrative mining. Over time, they saw that the dangers they faced were far greater than the rewards.
By 2021, Balabag reached commercial operation with markets in Oceania and Asia. Even amid the pandemic, Bayog’s development accelerated through new schools, roads, water systems and a coming tribal hall for the Subanen community.
The project passed PMIEA validation after its first year — a first for the TVIRD Group.
“The driving factor in winning this award is the single direction that we have in our minds: to reclaim the glory that the Balabag Project is a mining company that truly goes beyond compliance,” said TVIRD Balabag General Manager Noel Manrique.
Balabag maintains a spotless compliance record with zero notices of violation and a strong ISO 14001:2015 system.
“With our strong adherence to the law… we ensure that every step we take is in the right direction,” Manrique added.
Thriving communities
At the center of Balabag’s success are its host communities — both non-tribal and indigenous — whose path to self-determination is bolstered by livelihood and education support.
As in Siocon, which rose from fourth- to first-class municipality through the Canatuan Project, Bayog has likewise been elevated from third to first class due to increased economic activity.
In Agata’s host towns, Tubay and Santiago also moved up from fourth to first class, while Jabonga advanced from fourth to second class — proof of TVIRD’s social-development formula.
Greenstone’s communities are following the same trajectory, with Mainit improving from fourth to third class and Tubod from fifth to fourth.
Across crises, setbacks and recovery, the TVIRD Group has consistently emerged stronger.
As Shakespeare wrote in Twelfth Night: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.
“TVIRD has seen greatness in its people: its first responders in times of crises, its key officers who continue to challenge the tried-and-tested, and its communities who continue to strive to rise out of poverty.”
These continue to steer the TVIRD Group along its path to excellence.
