Mining permits to be reviewed

DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Mining permits will be reviewed as soon as President-elect Rodrigo Duterte is sworn into office on June 30.

Ernesto Abella, the spokesperson of the incoming president, on Thursday stressed that Duterte was not antimining, but was for responsible mining.

“The President is not antimining, that must be made clear,”Abella said in a press briefing.

“He (Duterte) actually supports each and every venture that will contribute to the health of the Philippine economy. However, he is very clear that whatever enterprise, venture that we get into, it must be done in a responsible manner,” he added.

When asked about the timetable for the review of mining permits, Abella said: “I’m sure almost as soon as possible after the inauguration (on June 30).”

He said that with the appointment of Gina Lopez, chair of the ABS-CBN Foundation, as environment secretary, “[the mining permits are] going to to be reviewed as soon as possible.”

Duterte named Lopez, a staunch antimining advocate, to head the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) when they met in Davao on Monday.

The post was initially offered to the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, but Duterte backtracked, explaining that he was planning a hard-line stance in dealing with highly extractive activities like mining and logging.