It’s complicated😆! MinDA Holds Virtual Meet With PICOP Stakeholders

The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) will hold a virtual conference at 2 p.m. today with several stakeholders of the mothballed Paper Industries Corporation of the Philippines as the first step in exploring ways to rehabilitate and revive what was once considered as Asia’s biggest pulp and paper mill located in Bislig City, Surigao del Sur.

Joining the ZOOM virtual conference are officials of Bislig City led by Mayor Florencio Garay, officers of the workers union and the court-appointed administrator Francisco Buencamino and officials of MinDA handling special projects and investments.

Established in 1950 after the company was granted a timber concession of over 186,000-hectares, PICOP shut down in 2006 following a series of problems, including attacks by the communist New People’s Army.

When it closed, the company left behind huge payables with several banks, the biggest of which is the Land Bank of the Philippines with an exposure estimated at over P2-B.

The workers’ union has already petiitioned that it be allowed to take over the facilities to pay off their claimed salaries and benefits which were left unpaid.

PICOP, for many years, provided jobs and income opportunities for people living near the area, including tree farmers who supplied timber for the processing facility.

While the problem looks very complicated, MinDA will explore ways and options on how to bring back the multi-billion facility to service to help boost Mindanao’s economic recovery.

#KungGustoMaramingParaan!

#GovernanceIsCommonSense!

(Photos of PICOP were downloaded from public website while the photos showing Falcata Trees and logs were taken by the DA Information Office when I was Secretary of Agriculture.)