Lawmaker to file bill vs mining

Monday, January 9, 2012

REPRESENTATIVE Isidro T. Ungab (3rd district, Davao City) is set to file a bill in Congress which will make Davao City mining-free, a measure that will bolster the City Government of Davao's hardline stance against mining operations in the metropolis.

Ungab, chair of the ways and means committee, said he is in the process of finalizing the draft for his proposed bill which will safeguard Davao City from the adverse effects of mining operations.

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"We have to protect Davao City from the harmful effects of mining," Ungab said. "Besides, Davao City has a big river that whatever activity or accident that may happen in the highlands will eventually reach the urban centers."

Aside from Ungab, Representative Luzviminda Ilagan, who is also from Davao City, is also filing a separate bill that will ban mining operations in the city.

Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte earlier told reporters she had talked with Ungab regarding the proposed bill and was apparently happy with the development.

Mayor Duterte and her father, Davao City Vice Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte, had time and again publicly expressed their strong opposition against mining operations in the city.

"The City Government of Davao will really oppose any application for mining operations in Davao City," Mayor Duterte said in her regular Monday media briefing at City Hall.

Earlier, the City Council had proposed to ban open-pit mining and underground mining, a move that surprised the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).

But Vice Mayor Duterte is bent on blocking any application on mining, saying that allowing mining operations in Davao will only destroy the city.

Duterte was sympathetic to victims and relatives of those who perished in the landslide that hit Pantukan, Compostela Valley days ago, but maintained his hardline stance against mining.

Ungab said the City Government of Davao must be supported in its desire to keep the city from the harmful effects of mining operations.

"Davao River has more than 50 tributaries. We also have to protect the quality of our fresh water supplies since it is among the top resources of Davao City and one best in the world," Ungab told Sun.Star Davao.