COTABATO CITY (October 17, 2025, Friday) —- Community leaders, among them ethnic Blaans, and employees of a private firm have fused ranks to provide with health services the marginalized villagers in a far-flung village in the hinterland town of Tampakan in South Cotabato.
Ferdinand Encia, chairman of Barangay Buto in Tampakan, told reporters on Thursday, October 16, that personnel of the Sagittarius Mines Incorporated, or SMI, delivered to his office on Friday, October 10, medicines for common ailments and other medical provisions to boost the current joint medical service program of the firm and their barangay government.
Encia and municipal officials separately told reporters on Thursday that barangay leaders, community health workers, the SMI and Blaan tribal leaders in Tampakan are cooperating in pushing forward their community health and medical thrusts in all of the barangays in their municipality.
The SMI was contracted by the national government to soon operate the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project, which shall cover adjoining Blaan domains in Tampakan, in Columbio in Sultan Kudarat, in Malungon in Sarangani and in Kiblawan in Davao Del Sur.
Encia and his constituent-barangay leaders said the SMI has not extracted copper and gold yet in their hometown, but already spent big amounts of money for community-empowerment, health and education programs in the four municipalities in the past 10 years.
“We are thankful to the management of this mining firm for its support for the health services of our barangay government and all the other barangay governments in Tampakan,” Encia said.
The vice mayors of Malungon and Kiblawan, Maria Theresa Constantino and Joel Calma, respectively, said some of the health workers in their municipalities, among them members of the indigenous Blaan community, finished midwifery and nursing courses through the SMI’s college scholarship program.