February 1, 2012 - It took an unexpected snag in the operations of an important plant, to prod temporarily out-of -job workers to try other jobs.  Around 2,000 casuals and contractual workers were affected by the closure of the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp (PASAR) in Leyte. To help the displaced workers, the local government of Isabel had been conducting job fairs for skilled workers like pipe fitters and welders to help them find jobs outside the country.  An official of the local government unit (LGU) of Isabel, Leyte has expressed concern on the stoppage of operations of the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp. (PASAR) located inside the Leyte Industrial Development Authority in Isabel, Leyte.  It might be remembered that PASAR management temporarily shut-down its operations when its acid plant, where the electrostatic precipitator (EP) was located, burned down at around six o’clock in the morning of January 2. The EP is vital to the operations of the plant.  Allan Borinaga, senior administrative assistant to Isabel town Mayor Saturnino Medina expressed concern on the effect of the stoppage of operations saying that the town stands to lose in income as PASAR is the top source of income generation for the municipality.  Borinaga disclosed that with the stoppage PASAR management is seeking for a moratorium of sales tax payment. The LGU would suffer a big lose to as much as P 5 million every quarter from the non-payment of sales tax alone. He also said that the income received from PASAR is used by the LGU to defray the costs for its various programs and projects for the people.

January 9, 2012 - The Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp. (Pasar), the only copper smelter and refinery in the country, has stopped its operations after a fire damaged its acid plant located within the Leyte Industrial Development Estate in Isabel, Leyte.  But Pasar management has assured its 800 regular employees and 1,500 service contractors will continue to report to work and will be paid although will be temporarily assigned to different tasks.  “We foresee a challenging time ahead due to the shutdown as we repair and rebuild the damaged portions of the acid plant. We are not yet sure how long this will take, but we are assessing what needs to be done in rebuilding the EP (electrostatic precipitator), to keep the shutdown as short as possible and to restart operating at full speed as soon as possible,” Pasar president Sias H. Els said.  Els added that Pasar is doing everything in exploring all the possible options and actions to recover immediately.  “Everyone will therefore continue reporting for work as usual until further notice, although perhaps with different work assignments, and everyone will get paid. We need to use the opportunity to do housekeeping and properly clean and do repairs where needed,” Els said.  Pasar’s acid plant, where the EP was located, was burned down in the morning of January 2. It took five hours for fire fighters to contain the fire.  The extent of the fire was severe but no fatalities and no direct injuries were reported. Minor burns were suffered by an employee, Orland Matuguina, who was involved in the fire fighting operations.  Fire probers initially estimated the damage at P15 million. But according to J. Paul Tan, Pasar’s assistant vice-president for industrial and community relations department, the damage could reach as $1 million.  “We could not immediately determine the actual damage. Our assessment continues. The acid plant alone costs a little over $1 million. But right now we are sending people to China and Japan to find for replacements of the burned machineries. We need it custom-built and that is why it will take us sometime to resume operations,” Tan said.   Tan admitted that Pasar’s operation is “not normal” and has affected the production of electrolytic copper cathode and refined copper anode where markets are very high in China, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan.  Tan said the company wants to restart operations by February.  “What happened was an integral risk of smelting. With the full support of our shareholders, we will overcome this challenge,” Tan said.  Tan added the company could continue operating but electronic precipitators is vital to its anti-pollution measures.