MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday vowed to address the issue of open-pit mining in the Philippines before the year ends.
“Alam ko marami tayong problema, mining, ‘yang open-pit, it’s destroying the country. In my departure speech sinabi ko, I will decide. I do not decide by years, I decide by weeks or months. Baka ipagsara ko talaga ang mining na open-pit,” Duterte said in his speech during his meeting with Filipinos in South Korea, where he is on a three-day official visit.
“A lot of places in the Philippines where mining is being done, ang kanilang siltation ‘yung lupa is brown, walang problema ‘yan sa mayaman. Ang problema ko ang marine life para sa fisherfolk sabi ko… either we have to reinvent mining in the Philippines or sarado kayo by the end of the year,” he added.
Duterte said the Philippines has been receiving P70 billion in taxes from mining, but he also admitted that the government must “limit the destruction of the government.”
The ban on open-pit mining was ordered by former Environment Secretary Gina Lopez in April 2017 through Department Administrative Order 2017-10.
In October, the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) recommended lifting the ban on open-pit mining, “provided that mining laws, rules and regulations are strictly enforced.”
However, Duterte rejected MICC’s suggestion. (GMA News)
