SAN JOSE, Antique – Gov. Rhodora Cadiao said she supports President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncement to ban open pit mining, which the latter said in his third State of the Nation Address on Monday.
Cadiao on Tuesday stressed that she knows the “damage and danger” that open pit mining – like the Semirara Coal Mining and Power Corp. in Caluya, Antique – posts.
“Whatever is the dictum of the president and has been provided [by] the law we will support it,” she said.
Cadiao also acknowledged that the province is benefiting from the tax being paid by the mining firm, which she stressed is the reason that she is not entirely against the mining activity.
“I am also for mining so long as it is responsible mining,” the governor said.
Meanwhile, Cadiao said she gives Duterte a “high rating” – not only as the governor of Antique but also as the chairwoman of the Regional Development Committee in Visayas and Regional Development Council in Western Visayas.
She added that she supports the President’s “Build, build, build” program. (With a report from PNA/PN)
