Philex Mining Corporation

30/03/2026

Women in Mining: HERStory Series

Mining is often described as tough ground. Hard rock. Long hours. High risks.
But beneath the surface of every operation are women who chose to stand there, boots planted firmly, claiming their place. Women who did not simply enter the industry, but grew within it.
Women in Mining: HERStory celebrates those journeys. The women who questioned, resisted, insisted, and ultimately rose.
Today, we share the story of Rowena S. Blanco of Philex Mining Corporation.

The Daughter

She grew up third generation. A proud Batang Philex.
Mining trucks were not strange machines. They were part of the landscape. The underground portal was not mysterious. It was simply there, woven into daily life.
Yet as a child, she did not dream of mining. She wanted to become a teacher. Or a nurse. Something familiar. Something she could easily imagine.
College came, and with it, confusion. She tried Accountancy. It did not feel right. She found herself asking a simple but powerful question.
“I live in a mining community. Why do I not understand what is happening here?”
That question changed everything.

The Student Who Refused to Settle

She decided to take Mining Engineering.
Her parents disagreed. She could take any Engineering course except Mining and Mechanical. Her brother was already in Mechanical Engineering. So she shifted to Chemical Engineering.
At first, she tried to convince herself it was fine. But as weeks passed, she knew she was forcing a path that did not belong to her.
Second semester came. Quietly, without informing her parents, she shifted again. This time to Mining Engineering.
It was not rebellion. It was clarity.
In her fourth year, her mother discovered the truth and was deeply upset. But Rowena stood her ground. She explained that she loved the course. That she could do it. That she believed in herself.
She graduated. Not just with a degree, but with ownership of her choice.

The Cadette

In June 2014, she entered the industry as a Cadet Engineer, part of Batch 3 of the Philex Mining Academy Cadette Program. The program was structured to shape future leaders in the company.
Then 2015 came with retrenchment. The cadette program did not finish as planned. Uncertainty filled the air.
Instead of being set aside, they were absorbed into operations.
From January 2015 to January 2018, she served as Draw Control and Subsidence Area Operations Engineer.
That first month underground was a moment of truth.
“This is it,” she told herself. “I am here.”
At that time, the bath area for men was open. They would accidentally see what they were not supposed to see. As more women joined the workforce, changes were made. The space adjusted.
And so did she.

The Engineer Who Grew Through Every Role

Her career did not stay in one lane. It expanded.
In 2018, she became a Cost Control and Research Engineer, learning to look beyond production and into numbers, projections, and performance analysis.
Later that same year, she transitioned into Rock Mechanics Engineer (November 2018 to August 2020), deepening her technical grounding in ground behavior, stability, and safety underground.
From September 2020 to March 2023, she stepped into leadership as Development Planning and Design Head. Strategy, direction, long term mine plans. The responsibility widened.
In April 2023, she briefly served as Contract Management and Cost Control Head, strengthening her understanding of financial discipline and operational accountability.
By October 2023, she transitioned into her current role as Mine Environmental Protection and Enhancement Officer (MEPEO) Manager.
From underground operations to environmental stewardship, her growth has been layered, not linear.

The Woman Who Kept Starting Again

Her greatest challenge was not the underground. It was transition.
Almost every few years, she was transferred to a new role. Just when she felt she had mastered one position, she had to move again. She would begin understanding systems deeply, then change would come.
No detailed turnover. No extended handover.
She had to teach herself. Adjust again. Study again. Lead again.
Some would see instability.
She chose to see expansion.
Each transfer stretched her capacity. Each adjustment strengthened her confidence. She became adaptable, resilient, and deeply knowledgeable across operations, planning, cost control, rock mechanics, contracts, and environmental management.
Eight supervisory roles. Multiple departments. One continuous decision to grow.

The Community Woman

Balancing work and family inside Philex felt different.
Her family lived in the same community. Work was demanding, but home was close. She did not have to choose between career and presence. She could lead in meetings, review plans, visit sites, and still be present in everyday family life.
For her, that balance mattered.

Her Voice

“To women who want to enter mining,” she says, “think about it one hundred times.”
It is not a warning born from fear. It is a challenge born from experience.
Think about it deeply. Understand the weight of the hard hat. Recognize the responsibility. Know the sacrifices. And if after one hundred times you still want it, then step forward without hesitation.
Because once you decide, you must stand firm.
From a girl who once dreamed of teaching…
To a Cadet Engineer in 2014…
To leading operations, planning, cost control, contracts, and environmental protection…
To a Mine Environmental Protection and Enhancement Officer Manager…
To someone who chose her path even when it was unpopular…
This is HERStory.

30/03/2026

Women in Mining: HERStory Series
Mining has long been described as an industry of strength. But strength is not measured only by physical endurance. It is measured by resolve, by the courage to accept responsibility, and by the quiet decision to rise when doubt is loud.
Today, we honor the journey of Grace Aylene N. Villanueva of Philex Mining Corporation.

HER STORY

The Little Girl Passing by the Laboratory

Before she wore a hard hat, she was a child walking past the Assay Laboratory.
She would slow her steps and look inside. Her mother worked there. Glassware, instruments, white coats. It felt mysterious. Important. Possible.
She did not know it then, but that quiet curiosity was already planting a seed.
She was third generation. A true Batang Philex. From elementary to high school, the mining community was not just a workplace. It was home. Mining was not an abstract industry. It was part of her daily life.

The Young Woman at the Enrollment Line

Her first dream was Dentistry.
Then came a simple instruction from a neighbor during college enrollment at Saint Louis University. “Line up there.”
Engineering.
She hesitated. Math was not her comfort zone. Civil Engineering crossed her mind, but drawing was not her strength either. She thought of the laboratory she used to admire. Chemical Engineering suddenly felt right.
The subjects were difficult. Chemical elements. Long computations. Sleepless nights. There were moments of doubt. But there was also faith. She held on. She finished.
Looking back, she smiles at that enrollment line. One small decision redirected her life.

The Cadette Engineer

In 1991, she became part of the first batch of Cadette Engineers under Milton Agyao at Philex. She entered the company not as someone seeking comfort, but as someone ready to learn.
From Cadetship to Assay.
From Assay to Metallurgy.
From Metallurgy to Manager in 2005.
Every transfer shaped her. Every challenge sharpened her. She did not rush the process. She mastered it.
The Woman Who Said “No” Before She Said “Yes”
In 2017, a defining moment arrived.
When the Head of Operations left, she was assigned to lead the department. She resisted. Most of her colleagues were men. She would be the only woman in the group. She was a Chemical Engineer stepping into a broader operational leadership role.
The doubt was real.
But so was the trust placed in her.
Milton Agyao encouraged her to take the position and promised guidance. That belief became her anchor. She accepted.
Leading Operations became the toughest chapter of her career. It demanded confidence beyond technical knowledge. It demanded presence. Authority. Decisiveness.
And she delivered.
Not by trying to be louder than everyone else.
Not by trying to be someone she was not.
She led by competence. By preparation. By conviction.

The Mother

At home, she carried another title that mattered just as much.
Mother.
Her mission was clear. Give her children quality education. Build a future stronger than her own. That meant long days at work and intentional time at home.
Her children became her daily inspiration.
Today, her daughter is a Chemical Engineer working at Petron. Her son is a Mechanical Engineer in the Planning Department of Philex.
Her legacy is not only in departments she led. It is in the lives she raised.

The Partner
Somewhere along her journey, she met her husband in the Safety Department. Mining did not only give her a career. It gave her a life partner who understood the demands of the industry.
Together, they built both family and profession within the same community that raised her.

The Woman Nearing Her 35th Year
On September 1, 2026, she marks 35 years in service. Retirement is planned next year.
Thirty-five years of walking into a space where women were once rare.
Thirty-five years of proving that leadership is not defined by gender.
Thirty-five years of choosing courage over comfort.
Her Voice
“If men can do it, we can too. Do not say you cannot until you try. You must have a strong will if you want to work in mining.”
Her words are not spoken from theory. They are spoken from experience.
From a girl curious about a laboratory.
From a student unsure about math.
From a manager who once doubted stepping into Operations.
From a woman who said yes when it mattered most.
This is not only the story of a career.
It is the story of choice.
Of resilience.
Of stepping forward when the path feels intimidating.
This is HERStory.

28/03/2026

SHE CHOSE THE MINE AND THE MINE CHOSE HER BACK

From the daughter of a mine truck driver to a department manager with 31 years at Philex Mining, Myra Basa's story is one of grit, growth, and grace.

There is a particular kind of pride that comes with knowing where you started — and Myra Basa knows exactly where that is. Her father spent his working life behind the wheel of a concentrate truck for Philex Mining Corporation, hauling the fruits of the earth along mountain roads, one of the countless unsung hands that keep a mining operation running. Today, his daughter sits in a manager's office at that same company, overseeing Supply Chain operations, with 31 years of institutional memory and hard-won expertise behind her name.

This International Women's Month, her story deserves to be told.

A Second Generation, A First of Her Kind
Myra grew up in the orbit of Philex — the company was part of the landscape of her childhood, woven into her sense of what work looked like, what it demanded, and what it could offer. But she did not walk straight through its doors. She earned her stripes first, taking a position as Accounting Clerk at a credit cooperative in 1991, learning the rhythms of finance and the discipline of numbers from the ground up.

It was four years of preparation she didn't know she was doing.

On July 17, 1995, Myra filed her application at Philex Mining. She was taken on as a Cadette Accountant under the Finance Department — entry-level, eyes wide open, and already carrying more experience than her title suggested. From Finance, she moved to Internal Audit, and eventually to Supply Chain, where she rose to Department Manager.

This July 17, 2026, she will mark her 31st year with the company. Three decades, the same organization, a journey that took her from the accounting desk to the manager's chair — and through some of the most demanding terrain, literal and figurative, that a mining company has to offer.

The Night She Asked to Sleep at the Mine Site
Ask Myra about her toughest professional experience and she doesn't cite a boardroom confrontation or a budget crisis. She talks about a night alone in an unfamiliar resort, in a province whose language she did not speak, in a region that was not entirely safe.

It was during her years in Internal Audit, when her work required her to travel to Philex's various project sites. The protocol was to house auditors at a nearby resort. On paper, it was a reasonable arrangement. In practice, for a woman alone in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by strangers speaking a dialect she couldn't understand, it was deeply isolating.

"The challenge is you're alone," she recalls. "You're not familiar with the place, the people, or their dialect."

By the second day, she made a decision that said everything about who she is: she asked to be moved to the mine site itself. Surrounded by colleagues and the structured environment of the operation, she could focus on the work. That is, after all, why she was there.

One of those field assignments took her to the Bulawan mine in Sipalay, Negros Occidental — a rehabilitation mission, but one shadowed by a more unsettling reality. There were reports of NPA activity in the area. Before the team was deployed, they were briefed on protocols: what to do, where to hide, how to respond if things turned. "I was really nervous," she admits, with the kind of candor that makes the understatement land harder. She went anyway.

Dismantling the Myth, One Woman at a Time
When Myra joined Philex in 1995, the mining industry looked the way most people still imagine it today: a man's world, almost by definition. The popular assumption — that mining is only for men — was so entrenched that it barely registered as an assumption at all. It was simply accepted.

"When I was starting, I remember that there was only one woman who was a mining engineer here," she recalls, referring to a colleague named Rowena Catacutan, a quiet pioneer in her own right. "But later on, dumami na."

And that, in miniature, is the arc of change. It did not come through proclamation or policy alone. It came through women like Rowena, and like Myra, showing up, doing the work, earning the trust, and making space — simply by being present and excellent — for the women who came after them.

Today, Philex has women mining engineers across its operations. The exception has become, if not yet the norm, at least unremarkable.

A Family That Grew Around the Work
One of the quiet gifts of Myra's career at Philex, she says, is that the company never truly separated her from her family — it housed them, in a sense, in the same world.

"What's good about working in Philex is your family is also here," she says. "After work, you can be with them."

The extended field assignments during her Internal Audit years were the exception — weeks away from home, site to site. But by then, her children were older. They understood what their mother's work meant and what it required. They had, in a sense, grown up watching her be exactly this: dedicated, mobile, capable.

Her son took that inheritance further. He is now a mining engineer himself, working abroad — a second generation, like his mother before him, shaped by the world of Philex and drawn, ultimately, to the same vocation.

The Philex School of Being Stretched
Myra speaks about professional growth the way someone talks about a muscle they had to learn to trust. Philex, she says, has a habit of assigning people tasks that sit well outside their stated job descriptions — not from indifference, but from a particular kind of institutional confidence.

"They give you that because they know you can do it," she says.

Her response to that confidence was not to resist it or wait for someone to explain it away. She studied. She pushed herself to understand whatever was placed in front of her. And she delivered.

It is a philosophy that has quietly shaped her management style. As a department head, she brings that same expectation of expandable capability to the people she leads — trusting them with more, expecting them to rise to it, and providing the kind of steady support that makes rising possible.

Being the Superior Who Puts Herself in Their Shoes
Leadership, for Myra, is not a performance. It is an act of empathy practiced consistently, often quietly, in the daily negotiations between authority and understanding.

"Being their superior, I may be strict," she says, "but I also put myself in their shoes."

The foundation of that empathy is specific: she is a mother. She knows what it means to carry a child's school schedule in your head during a budget meeting. She knows what it costs to miss a recital for a site visit, or to answer a work call when a child needs you. She does not use that knowledge to lower her standards. She uses it to make her expectations human.

"Understanding their situation and having empathy for others" — that is how she describes her approach. In a corporate world that often mistakes detachment for professionalism, it is a radical and necessary thing.

The Message
If there is one thing Myra Basa wants to leave with the women who are still figuring out whether the path ahead is meant for them, it is this:

"Being a woman should not be an obstacle to reaching your dream."

Not a caveat. Not a qualifier. A statement, clear and full, from a woman who has lived it — who was born the daughter of a concentrate truck driver and became the manager who ensures that the supply chain of an entire mining company moves with precision and care.

Thirty-one years. One company. A father who drove the truck. A son who engineers the mine. And a woman, at the center of it all, who never once let the industry's assumptions about who belongs define what she could become.

27/03/2026

27/03/2026

27/03/2026

Honoring Engr. Melanie Castro: A Trailblazer for Women in Mining

As the world celebrates International Women’s Month, we shine a spotlight on Melanie B. Castro, a proud third-generation Philex employee whose journey into mining was sparked by childhood curiosity. Growing up watching her grandfather and father don their skull guards, boots, and vests, young Melanie was inspired to follow in their footsteps — and she did so in a way that would make history.

After completing the Technical Skills Formation (TSF) program, she was hired as the first female Mechanical Engineer in Philex’s Mine Division, a milestone that set the tone for a remarkable 13-year career. From Research and Cost Control Engineer to Contract Management and Cost Control Engineer, and eventually Superintendent of the Mechanical Department, Melanie has continuously risen through the ranks — most recently earning a promotion as Technical Assistant to the VP-Padcal Operations and Resident Manager.

Her story is a powerful testament to what happens when talent meets opportunity.

What truly sets Melanie apart is not just her technical expertise, but her gift for leadership and human connection. One of her most memorable challenges came during her assignment to the maintenance of the Load-Haul-Dump (LHD) unit, where she faced the delicate task of uniting a team of both young and seasoned workers.

Noticing that an older team member had grown withdrawn and unmotivated — feeling like a burden in the presence of a stronger, younger generation — Melanie took the time to listen and understand. She gave him a meaningful project, reignited his sense of purpose, and in doing so, fostered a spirit of cohesion and mutual respect across the entire team.

It is this kind of empathetic, people-first leadership, guided in part by mentors like Engr. Au Dolipas, Geraldine Ateo-an, and Roselyn Dahilan, that has earned her the genuine respect and cooperation of everyone she leads.

Melanie is deeply grateful to Philex for creating an environment where ability and willingness — not gender — define opportunity. “I can really feel my growth, not only in my career but also in my leadership role,” she reflects, crediting the company’s fairness and support in helping her balance both professional ambitions and family life.

As a trailblazer, she is now paying it forward with an enthusiastic message to the next generation: “To young women who want to enter a mining company, I am encouraging you to be part of one — because the growth you are looking for is in mining.”

Melanie B. Castro is living proof that with eagerness, perseverance, and heart, women don’t just belong in mining — they can lead it.

25/03/2026

Women in Mining: HERStory Series

Some careers are measured by titles.
Others are measured by the lives they shape and the choices that define them.

For nearly three decades, one woman has quietly built both a profession and a legacy inside Philex Mining Corporation, balancing numbers, leadership, and motherhood with unrelenting dedication.
This chapter of HERStory shines the spotlight on Eileen Rodriguez — an accountant, a leader, and a mother who chose both career and family, and made them thrive together.

Here is her story.

A Career Built on Courage and Commitment

The Professional Journey
An Accounting graduate of 1985, Eileen began her professional career in 1986. Driven and capable, she built her experience across several companies before making a life-changing decision in 1998.
She applied as Accounting Manager through an advertisement in the Manila Bulletin while still employed at a multinational company. At that time, she was already balancing career growth and motherhood.

Working in a multinational firm demanded long hours and complete deliverables before leaving the office. The pressure was intense, and time with her children became limited.
She made a brave and defining choice:
“I need to go.”
In March 1998, she joined Philex Mining Corporation as Accounting Manager. What began as a career move became a lifelong professional home.

Growing with the Company
From Accounting Manager, she rose to become part of the Group Corporate Treasury and Export.
This March marks her 28th year with Philex , an evidence of her loyalty, growth, and fulfillment.
For Eileen, Philex is more than a workplace.
“It is my home,” she shares with pride.
She found not only professional growth but also community, people she values, work she loves, and a place where she envisions her retirement.

A Mother’s Perspective
Beyond her corporate role, Eileen is a mother first.
Her decision to leave a multinational company was rooted in love, choosing presence over pressure.
She even brought her children to see what mining truly is. They visited the underground operations and explored the host communities, the hospital, the schools, and the people whose lives are intertwined with the industry.

She wanted them to see the bigger picture.
To understand that mining, when done responsibly, contributes to communities in ways often unseen.
Through that experience, she shaped not only her career but her children’s understanding of truth beyond perception.

Her Message to Women
After nearly three decades in mining, her words are strong and consistent:
“We can do anything that a man can do — and much better.”
It is not just a statement.
It is lived experience.
It is proof forged through years of leadership, motherhood, and professional excellence.

The story of Eileen Rodriguez reminds us that empowerment is sometimes found in bold decisions, choosing family, choosing growth, and choosing purpose.

In mining, women are not only part of the workforce.
They are leaders, nurturers, decision-makers, and builders of legacy.

And like Eileen, they prove that strength and compassion can thrive in the same space, shaping industries and families alike. 💛

23/03/2026

BAGUIO CITY – Eleven college students from different universities in Benguet, currently matriculated in mining or geosciences programs officially become scholars of the Development of Mining Technology and Geosciences (DMTG), at a Memorandum of Agreement signing ceremony that took place on March 14, 2026, at the Mines and Geosciences Bureau – Cordillera Administrative Region (MGB-CAR).

Implemented by the Philex Mining Corporation, in coordination with the MGB-CAR, the DMTG program intends to provide educational financial assistance, including tuition, allowance, and additional fees to students pursuing careers in the mining and geosciences field.

The chosen students, along with their parents, Atty. Lionel Wanawan and Atty. Eduardo Aratas of Philex Mining Corporation, and Amy Ramos of MGB-CAR, are present to formally sign contracts of the agreements.

BAGUIO CITY – Eleven college students from different universities in Benguet, currently matriculated in mining or geosciences programs officially become scholars of the Development of Mining Technology and Geosciences (DMTG), at a Memorandum of Agreement signing ceremony that took place on March 1...