(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, Sept. 18, reiterated his wish to ban mining in the country, following a landslide that buried at least 30 people in Itogon, Benguet, and which was blamed on mining operations in the area.
“I want to stop mining because it has created a monster in the country,” Duterte said in a press briefing in Isabela.
He said mining destroys marine life, and “puts in peril the stomach of Filipinos.”
He also hit at miners who “occupy watersheds,” a fact he found “stupid.”
“When the consequences of mining happen, you spend more” than the amount the economic managers say we earn through mining, Duterte said.
Earlier, Duterte called on Congress to repeal the Philippine Mining Act which allows mining operations in the country.
Duterte has blamed the landslides at the height of “Ompong” to mining operations conducted in those areas.
“If we cannot end mining because of the law, to end mining… Congress will have to abrogate the law..Mining has been operating in this country uncontrolled,” he added.
