Envi group slams Palace’s flip-flop on mine closure

An environmental group on Thursday hit Malacañang for supposed “flip-flopping” on the closure and suspension of large-scale mining operations.

Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) said the Duterte administration is “gravely mistaken in their flip-flopping from fully supporting to suddenly putting on hold the historic decision to close down big mines.”

Last week, Environment Secretary Gina Lopez announced the closure of 23 mines, which had damaged watershed areas. She also suspended five other mining firms.
READ: DENR shuts down 23 mining areas

However, the mining companies decided to appeal to President Duterte. Lopez later said that the President will have the final say on the issue. If Duterte supports the closure, the companies will then have to bring the case to the courts.

READ: Duterte has final say

Kalikasan PNE national coordinator Clemente Bautista said Malacañang “should have upheld the suspension of mines even amid the appeal” of the mining companies.

Bautista pointed out that the audit of all 41 large-scale mines “involved frontline communities, local governments, and NGOs that have experienced and confronted first-hand the adverse social and environmental impact of big miners.”

He said the companies should be allowed to appeal “but the closure and suspension orders must be kept in place concurrent to the appeal process.”

“At the very least, Malacañang should have a precautionary approach to resolving the dispute over the mine closures since there are clear and urgent cases of environmental degradation and social injustice that has to be immediately addressed,” he said.

Bautista argued that some mining firms have in the past been the subject of scientific environmental investigation, which proved that they were responsible for water pollution.

“OceanaGold was never held accountable by the previous administration, however, but was among the companies suspended by the current DENR leadership after its audit,” he said.

Bautista accused some Cabinet members of siding with the mining companies.

“The Duterte administration should…launch a full-blown investigation into the glaring weaknesses of our mining regulatory policies,” Bautista said.