President Duterte to mining businesses: Come up with setup that is “fair to everybody”

The President also proposes for them to “compensate” people affected by the industry

Former Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Regina Lopez shows a picture of Liang tailings storage facility’s (TSF) environment compliance certificate (ECC) on Dec. 15, 2016. The mining company was among those suspended by the her office because of what she said was the vast damage to the environment it had done. Reuters/Czar Dancel

(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday asked businessmen engaged in mining to come up with an arrangement that would be “fair to everybody,” also suggesting for them to “compensate” those affected by the industry instead.

Duterte said this as he reiterated he would call all those engaged in mining, former Environment Secretary Gina Lopez and other militants to a meeting in Malacanang, in a speech delivered at the Davao Investment Conference.

“We have to rearrange everything here,” he said, hinting at the drafting of an improved mining law.

He said that in the meeting, he would show the businessmen “slides about good mining practices,” and then show them “slides ng mining gone awry.”

He said he would also take them to a town that had been greatly affected by mining.

“Papaano ang mga tao na di kasama sa corporate world, not connected with your business? ..Inadequate food, and they are suffering….Come up with an arrangement where it is fair for everybody. We can’t stop mining because there is a mining law that regulates the industry,” he said.

He said, “otherwise, I will have to think of something.”

“If you want, why don’t you compensate people deprived of the things they need because of mining? Fair is fair,” he said.