[ Man 1 ] Sometimes I'm scared of being buried under the rocks.
[ Henry R. Bandales ] When I'm down there,
I pray not to be buried.
[ Girl ] Submerged divers know they are practically half dead.
[ Alma de Joya-Enriquez ] A few months ago with the new government they started this strive
to close down legal and illegal mining.
[ Lola ] Some of them drown in the mud, they use only masks for protection.
[ Lourdes Villamonte ] People need jobs.
Gold mining is the only source of income...
They are reliant on gold...
processing...
and gold mining.
[ Henry R. Bandales ] We call it a 'death-time job' not a 'lifetime job'.
[ Driver ] It's slippery. [ Henry ] I said to drive towards the verge.
[ Henry ] No, no! Reverse! It's less deep there.
[ Alma ] Paracale is what they call the gold town
where there are a lot of
mountains and land that has a potential for gold mining
small scale and large scale.
[ Marina Kosareva, correspondent ] We’re going to the illegal sites right?
[ Alma ] Yes illegal sites where they dive into the mud…
The kids who want to do mining on their own bill they walk
for about 3-4 hours.
[ Marina ] 3 hours? [ Alma ] Yes.
[ Harold Elip Michael ] We'll start saving money
when we finally get paid.
I used to like this job,
but...
not anymore.
My legs are swollen, they ache so much.
Come on, put on your sandals.
We're nearly there. We're close, very close!
[ Alma ] With the help of our guide
Kuya Moks I chance upon him when I went here
a few weeks back and he helped me go through
a lot of mining sites that are still existing.
[ Marina ] So as soon as you build a new well, 3 days you know if it’s good or not?
[ Henry ] There are good and bad spots.
Places can have a lot or a little.
If they find nothing deep down, they move on.
[ Marina ] And how many people work here, approximately, 20 wells…
[ Henry ] I'd estimate...
maybe 100 people.
[ Marina ] The people sitting here, what are they doing here, for example?
[ Alma ] These people work as one group.
Some of them dig up the muck, some receive it, others pan it, yet others sieve it.
[ Henry ] We spend 6 hours in a row under water.
[ Marina ] How do you know what to take?
[ Henry ] If the mud is soft, there's no gold.
There might be gold if there's stone, like this.
[ Marina ] Ah hard…Are there many sites like this in Paracale?
[ Alma ] There are other barangay or village that have this…
[ Henry ] It's the most dangerous job I've ever done.
If a rockfall happens, we'll all be buried alive.
No one would be able
to save us, we'd quickly drown.
The underground water is also very cold,
so cold...
it's almost unbearable.
[ Marina ] Oh there’s someone going in...
[ Henry ] We put a tube in our mouth to get air.
It's tied to us so we can't lose it.
We also wear earplugs to stop water and mud entering our ears.
We put on masks that cover half the face and nose.
[ Apollo Jardin ] My name is Apollo Jardin.
I've worked the pits...
for 7 years.
I raised my children with the money I earned here.
It's the only source of income
for me and my pals.
Sometimes, when you're on the bottom,
you sense that it's too dangerous,
and you'd better go up.
[ Alma ] Air flow.
[ Marina ] Can he explain what he’s doing and why he’s doing that?
[ Man ] He has a problem getting air.
[ Boy ] Sometimes it's scary...
What if the walls collapse? You'd be buried.
If there's no way out,
they simply cut the rope and leave you underwater.
It happened to my uncle.
[ Marina ] I haven't seen your uncle.
Aren't you scared that it will happen to you?
[ Girl ] A diver already knows he has one foot in the grave.
[ Marina ] But why do this? Do something else.
[ Girl ] It's easy money.
No money, no eat!
[ Apollo ] Kids help us despite their age. They do a lot.
Sometimes we share our earnings with them.
[ Michael ] Give me some water, Harold! Quick! It's hot!
[ Marina ] Why are you not in school?
[ Boy ] We don't have money for food today.
[ Marina ] Did you find something?
What is that? Can I see?
[ Boy ] Just one 'palai' (1/40 gram).
Dammit, they'll take everything.
[ Marina ] Your name is? [ Harold ] Harold Elip.
[ Alma ] How much do you earn? [ Harold ] Sometimes 115 pesos ($2.30).
[ Harold ] I give everything to my grandma.
There's nothing left by the next morning.
Then Totoj and I go back and continue to dig.
My dad died and my mum married another man.
Apple is my sister, they sold her. My sister was sold.
[ Marina ] What happened to your father? How did he die?
[ Harold ] He drank poison because of Mum.
I don't want to see you ever again, Mum!
You left us! You abandoned us.
You cruelly kicked us out in the rain.
[ Alma ] Harold, let's meet tomorrow, ok?
You should go home.
[ Henry ] Have you found something?
How long have you been down?
[ Man ] Three hours.
[ Henry ] How deep is the pit?
About 30 feet?
So there's no gold?
You must go deeper to find gold.
[ Marina ] If you find gold how do you divide it?
[ Man ] Our manager does it every week.
[ Marina ] But the people that go underwater get more?
[ Man ] Divers get double.
[ Alma ] Divers get double.
[ Marina ] Ok well that’s fair, yes.
[ Eddie ] My name is Ebi De Messa.
I'm a financier.
[ Marina ] How much does his pit make every day on average?
[ Eddie ] Usually 5 grams in the day
and 5 grams at night,
because they work 24 hours.
[ Marina ] Is it difficult to become a financier? How much do you need?
[ Eddie ] 20,000 pesos ($402) is enough.
[ Man ] Gold! Bring it here, we'll treat it with mercury.
[ Eddie ] We add mercury to separate the gold.
Once the mercury is added to the sand mixture, we put it in the pot.
[ Alma ] Isn't it bad for your health?
[ Eddie ] Only when we start boiling it.
It's dangerous when it evaporates.
We try not to inhale the vapours.
[ Alma ] Where does Mark John live?
Good afternoon.
Is Mark John here?
[ Mark John ] There, there!
He's hungry, he wants to eat.
[ Alma ] Hello,
this is Marina.
This is Mark John.
[ Marina ] Nice to meet you.
Why didn’t you go to an official mining company?
[ Mark ] I have a skin disease, they won't hire me
for medical reasons.
I started work aged 12,
by 19 I had developed this skin disease.
[ Alma ] How do you know you got it from mining?
[ Mark ] I went to a doctor a long time ago. The itching wouldn't stop.
I scratched myself until the spots
spread to my thighs and other parts of my body.
It's all due to poverty...
I can't afford to treat my condition
at the expense of my child's wellbeing,
that's not right.
[ Alma ] Let's take you to a doctor for treatment,
so you can work again.
[ Mark ] That would be great.
[ Marina ] Do they know many cases like that? Many people who have suffered because of mining in terms of health.
[ Henry ] I have suffered myself. Look, right here...
[ Marina ] Can you show that a bit longer?
[ Henry ] I'm very shy!
[ Marina ] Did you go to the doctor?
[ Henry ] I treat myself.
I cough all the time, you must have noticed.
I contracted it in the pit, but I don't care if I'm sick.
If you're meant to die you'll die. That's it.
[ Marina ] What else could people do here if it’s not mining?
[ Henry ] That's the big question, one we ask all the time.
[ Henry ] Unfortunately, it's our only way
to make a living. It's illegal
but the government turns a blind eye.
If the police catch someone,
we just pay them off.
They see our lives are hard and let us go.
[ Alma ] A few months ago with the new government they started this drive to close down
small scale to large scale mining
legal and illegal companies to elevate
the quality of life in Paracale.
As you can see some of the abandoned sites are still existing…
Some say that they are
free to do that because the land owner
allowed them to do, especially if it’s private land
and the owner allows them to do that could be the government
maybe has some difficulty controlling it.
[ Henry ] Where do you take the gold after it is processed?
[ Eddie ] Straight to the buyer. [ Henry ] How often do you go?
[ Eddie ] Every evening. [ Henry ] How much do you sell it for?
[ Eddie ] Usually 800 -1,600 pesos ($16-32) per gram.
[ Eddie ] Our buyers don't pay much here.
We don't know how much they sell it for.
As far as I know,
my clients sell the gold,
on to the bank.
The central bank, that is.
[ Seller ] They won't see me, will they?
[ Alma ] No, we're only recording your voice.
[ Marina ] Can you please tell me what you do
with the gold after you get it from the miners?
[ Seller ] We use it for jewelry making,
jewelry, necklaces, bracelets, whatever... accessories.
[ Marina ] Do you know, where the gold comes from? [ Seller ] Yes.
[ Marina ] Yes? How do you know?
[ Seller ] I've lived here most of my life,
so I know where it came from, how Filipinos do it.
[ Marina ] How do you feel now that they are closing so many mines?
Will it affect your business somehow?
And as someone who lives here where gold is so important
how do you feel about them closing so many mines?
[ Seller ] It's sad but we need to look for other options to...
to survive, not only for gold.
Like us, now, we buy it...
We are also worried because how are we going to survive?
But then we also have to think of the future for the children.
[ Alma ] How are you? How was the check-up?
What did they tell you?
[ Mark ] The doctor gave me this medicine,
it's for my skin condition.
He said it doesn't show on the skin
but I still have it on the inside.
[ Alma ] What caused it?
[ Mark ] Well, I was always standing in water.
I was wet all the time,
the water was dirty,
I was sweating.
My work caused it.
[ Marina ] Is it contagious, by the way?
[ Mark ] Yes, ma'am. That's what the doctor said.
The disease can spread
through direct contact
with other people.
[ Marina ] So like... yesterday,
the other day when I saw you I shook your hand what do I need to do now?
[ Mark ] No, no! I wash my hands regularly!
[ Marina ] What are the long term health risks involved with mining?
[ Doctor ] Last year we had 464 cases of tuberculosis,
mercury poisoning due to chronic exposure to
mercury so this mercury can contaminate the air,
the water system and even the soil.
Chronic illnesses like pneumonia, bronchitis and also asthma.
There are a lot of people dying due to mining activities like accidental drowning
using dynamite…
We had accidental electrocution.
If I remember it right, it was a 3 years old who drowned in a panning area
because it is not properly cordoned or fenced,
[ Mark ] it was abandoned by the small scale miners.
If I go back to work,
I won't recover from this skin disease.
That's what the doctor said.
[ Marina ] Now you’ve made a choice even though it gives
you more money you will not do it for your health?
[ Mark ] Once I recover, maybe I will go back.
I can't say right now.
If I can find another job,
I will definitely do that instead.
[ Alma ] He will go to a rally on Tuesday. It's the only
chance for them to make sure their voices are heard.
[ Mark ] Manila must hear about miners like myself.
[ Lourdes Villamonte Briguera, mayor ] I understand their feelings,
but the
decrees issued by Secretary Gina Lopez,
the one responsible for the mining,
and for miners, must be obeyed.
It's one way to legalise the mines in Paracale,
not just in Paracale but all over the Philippines.
Many lives have been lost,
for instance, in Mabuhay.
[ Mark ] Gina Lopez doesn't understand small-mines,
and workers' problems. Rich people run large companies,
but people like us get the raw end of the deal.
We have nothing but our jobs in the pits.
We do it to buy rice and milk, and they're trying to ban it.
[ Lourdes ] People are angry at me.
They don't understand that I'm doing what I'm told.
[ Marina ] You had orders to close mines but how do you make sure
that the unofficial mines are closed? Does anyone inspect? Check?
[ Lourdes ] Yes. [ Marina ] Yes?
[ Marina ] How do you check, how do you inspect?
[ Lourdes ] I personally go to the place
[ Marina ] How are you trying to control the black market with gold here?
[ Lourdes ] The idea is as follows: if a project of a mining town is carried out,
it will be the local authorities who'll buy the gold.
Then, we'll get the right prices and the government
will be able to make money out of it, too,
at the same time helping the locals.
Local authorities will hand the gold over to the Central bank, which will resell it.
[ Woman ] Merciful Jesus, please,
look down upon the soul
of the deceased Christian
in the garden of your prayer.
Have mercy and forgive Arnold.
[ Henry ] This is where Arnold Ursua used to live.
This is where his body is resting,
in his own home.
He died from having worked in the pits
for many years.
His body hasn't been embalmed,
so we could catch this disease too.
[ Mildred Reba ] They look for their dad every day.
My name is Mildred Reeba, Arnold Ursua's widow.
We took him...
to the hospital because he had trouble breathing.
[ Marina ] How long has it been? How many days?
[ Mildred ] Six days
It's time for us to go.
We knew a lot of people
who died the way he did,
after their lung conditions worsened.
[ Lola ] Harold, wake up,
it's morning.
[ Henry ] The same thing's happening to a friend.
He's just waiting to die,
he can't afford treatment.
Working in the pits is our only hope, our only source of income.
So, I guess… Who knows, maybe tomorrow or on Saturday,
or a month from now he'll be dead.
[ Lourdes ] People need jobs.
Gold mining is the only source of income...
They are reliant
on gold
processing
and gold mining.
[ Lola ] Put this on, quickly.
[ Alma ] This is Arnold’s son from his first marriage.
Apparently he doesn’t want to live with his step mother.
[ Alma ] What's your name? [ Den Mark ] His name is Den Mark.
[ Alma ] How old are you? [ Den Mark ] I'm 8.
[ Alma ] Where are you going now?
You have no mum or dad. Where do you live?
[ Aunt ] His uncle said he'd take him in. We asked him to.
[ Alma ] Who's his uncle? [ Aunt ] My husband.
[ Aunt ] He used to live with us, but he's so stubborn.
One moment he comes home, the next he runs off without saying a word.
I asked him if he wants to start school next year, but he doesn't.
[ Alma ] If you don't study, nothing good will happen.
Nothing in your life will change if you don't go to school, ok?
[ Lola ] Please, be careful at work. [ Harold ] I am.
[ Harold ] That's how I make it home alive.
[ Lola ] Sometimes he says, 'Mum, we found lots today,
I'm going to stay overnight.'
I don't want him to stay because
I'm so worried something will go wrong.
Sometimes I ask him not to go, but he goes anyway.
He says, 'Mum, we've run out of rice,
let me go and work with the guys.'
[ Harold ] I used to like this work, but not anymore.
My legs are swollen, they ache so much.