the first time i heard about rapu-rapu was the time in my childhood when i heard the drunk next door mention it in a jest with his comrades. i didnt really get what he was talking about but i asked my mother about if there is such a place in the Philippines. the reply she gave me wasnt really concise enough for a five year old to understand. all she said was 'those people know what theyre talking about even if theyre drunk.' but i took that as the answer. after all, she always seems to think that i'm some sort of wonder child and that i can understand everything that she tell me. i did (and still do) understand everything she tells me. just not in the way she wants me to.
fourteen years later, in the most important month of my academic career, my comrades and i were sent to visit the island as a part of our In-Company Training. the trip was about sending us there to have a look at the mine that was constructed there two years ago. of course i've heard of the controversies surrounding the mine. none of them were positive, but all of them were concerned with the effects of mining on the environment. personally, that's the reason why i picked this company to be the locale of my ICT. i will admit that i was completely igonorant about the company before the time we visited the island. i had no idea what i was getting myself into when i picked to be an intern in this company. i knew one thing, though: i wanted to know what was really going on. it's a journalist's job to know both sides of the story. and so, i wanted to know the company's side of the story, what its representatives had to say for themselves according to the issues surrounding their line of work.
of course, when we got there on the island (we left the mainland at past 10 we got there a little later than 1 pm) the first thing that we did was attend an orientation about the goings on in the mine (actually when we got there, we were immediately ushered to the mess hall to have our lunch but i'm not going to go into the tedium of the trip) and then, we were taken on a tour of the mine. after that...what was it...after dinner, we had an open forum...then, bedtime.
i cant say much else since the whole visit happened six days ago, i dont really remember much about what exactly happened. i guess the last thing that i have to say is that, when we first came into the offices of the RRMI (Rapu-Rapu Mining Incorporated) we were asked what our expectations were. my answer was that i wanted to learn something that i didnt know before. well, i did.
what did i learn? well...for one thing, the things that were going around about this company is not entirely true. some of the anti-mining people like to exaggerate, others refuse to admit theyre wrong.
but the thing is, in order for the public to know the truth, this company needs to have more exposure. half of the people i spoke to regarding this company used the terms 'daw' and 'sabi nila'. that means uncertainty.
an information campaign. that's what's necessary for this company to thrive with the public. people need to know the truth and this company needs to speak for itself.
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