Filminera B2GoldB2Gold is affiliated with Filminera, which I think is a Philippine entitiy that essentially owns most of the Masbate gold project. B2 does the mining--seems a complex relationship. Kalikasan Peoples Network opposes the operation, as it does Oeana's Didipio.
I think the operation is near Aroroy City where communist folk (rebels and terrorists if you oppose them, heroes of the people if you're for 'em I suppose)--rebs killed two barangay officials. It's not all a bed of roses for B2. In Africa their Fekola mine operates in even worse politics.
Masbate Covid numbers yet to be determined, but they're probably worse than Didipio region.
Perhaps I'm a bit cynical, but if you have a gold mine up and running from which your government receives most of the money, perhaps you might keep it going no matter if a pandemic occurs. Meaning, that if Duterte had a crystal ball, knew the pandemic was coming, he might have renewed Oceana's FTAA regardless of what Kalikasan and Mining Watch Canada et al thought about it. One good question is: how do you make a living if you have to pay to play at the rate of 60%, which seems to be a number picked out of thin air. Obviously, there's more to the arrangements than we the plebian public will ever know. In any even, Duterte doesn't need a crystal ball anymore, but he needs 60% and we can wonder away about when that decree will be announced. IMO