(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday, June 14, said he would decide on whether or not to allow open-pit mining in the country.
The President made the announcement during the oath-taking of newly elected barangay chiefs in the Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon region in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
The President did not lift the ban on open-pit mining imposed by then-Environment Secretary Gina Lopez, after he rejected the proposal of the Mining Industry Coordinating Council for the same in November 2017.
In April, Duterte said the ban might still be in place by 2019.
“Matagal na akong mainit sa mining pero may mining law and if I am the president, I have to execute the laws,” he said.
“Before December I will decide,” he said.
