15 lovely candidates FOR bb. isabel 2012 (one candidate is not around) however, will continue to vie for the title of town queen on January 14, the eve before the town fiesta notwithstanding the bad news that one of its industrial stalwarts have stopped operating for a still unknown period. Swinsuit photoshoot held at the poolside of the PASAR guesthouse. Photo by Joel dela Cerna
ISABEL, LEYTE – The Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corporation, Inc. (PASAR) based at the Leyte Industrial Development Estate here has stopped operations after a fire burned down its acid plant early morning of January 2, Monday. When it would resume operations remains unclear, but management has assured employees they will continue to report to work and get paid for it.
The plant employs around 800 regular people, aside from providing livelihood to an estimated 1,200 people indirectly through its various service contracts.
Management has said that while they could still operate the plant without its acid plant or electrostatic precipitator (EP), to do so would endanger the environment and community.
PASAR president Sias Els who visited the copper smelting plant on Friday, January 6, has assured its regular employees that while plant operations have stopped, everybody will continue to report to work and “everyone will get paid”, albeit they might have to be assigned to different tasks.
When the plant resume operations, however, is not clear. Unofficial sources said it could be between three to six months, but hoped it would be sooner.
Els himself said they are not sure how long it will take for PASAR to recover and return to its normal operations but added “we are assessing what needs to be done in rebuilding the EP, to keep the shutdown as short as possible and to restart operations at full speed as soon as possible.” Sadly, Els said, “ the reality is that the incident that happened is an integral risk of smelting”.
“Everyone will therefore continue reporting for work as usual until further notice, although perhaps with different work assignments, and everyone will get paid”, he said, adding the company might as well “use the opportunity to do housekeeping and properly clean and do repairs where needed”.
He assured the employees, including shareholders, that “we will overcome this challenge” and “prove to ourselves that there is no company, no family like PASAR”.
The president’s message was published in full at the company’s official newletter “Copperflash” which was released to the public midday of Friday.
The issue also had notice from Noli del Rosario, vice-president for human resources, that they had opened an email account dedicated to answer issues and concerns regarding the incident and its repercussions.
The EP, it was learned is vital to the plant’s anti-pollution measures, and even if the plant could continue operating without it, management does not want to risk the environment and the community.
Louie Tordillo, a native of Palompon and an oil and lubricant expert who is now based in the US, in an email to this reporter said that the country is lucky that PASAR is owned by Glencore, a Swiss company known for its reputable and high ethical standards in doing business.
Congresswoman Lucy Torres-Gomez here also had the same observation and thanked the management for showing sensitivity to the environment and the community.
On the other hand, Mayor Saturnino Medina Jr. of this town has called on his department heads to adopt austerity measures in the light of the PASAR shutdown.
Engr. Ella Brebante, town administrator, said they know that the shutdown will have an impact on the town’s economy hence the mayor’s call for austerity. While PASAR’s 800 regular employees are assured of regular pay, an estimated 1,300 people working indirectly for PASAR on various service contracts will be affected. Most of them are based or living in the town.
The shutdown could also directly affect the town coffers, the company being one of its biggest taxpayers and contributor to various community programs.
In his memo, Mayor Medina said that the situation was “expected to create a considerable negative impact on our financial stability” and to ensure continuity and efficient delivery of public service, he is ordering the reduction of unnecessary expenditures.
Among these, he enumerated, are travels and attendance to seminars and conventions not “extremely important in nature” and purchase of supplies be limited to items of high import. He also recommended the recycling of bond paper and other items. There will also be no filling up of vacant positions, promotions and upgrading of employment status and hiring of additional personnel is temporarily suspended.
Medina added that requests to render overtime shall have to be for justifiable circumstances and those who render it ahead before their requests are approved shall not be honored, unless for valid reasons which will be determined by municipal administrator Brebante.
