Monday, November 03, 2008 Duterte on 'night out' with Arroyo: No politics
THEY discussed a lot of things, but not politics, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte said of his talk with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during a "surprise meeting" last week at his favorite haunt.
The President went for a nightcap at After Dark piano lounge Thursday after she graced the birthday party of House Speaker Prospero Nograles at Marco Polo Hotel Davao. Duterte was there as it was his regular hangout.
"We talked about a lot of things, Mindanao, Diwalwal, communists," Duterte told reporters after he visited the tomb of his father at the Roman Catholic Cemetery on Saturday evening.
"Being the former Regional Peace and Order chair, I had my inputs and suggestions," Duterte said.
According to Duterte, Arroyo is worried that the New People's Army (NPA) has been getting a more sizeable share of taxes from the gold mines in the Diwalwal gold rush area and that not all of the gold reserves of the country may have been transacted at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
"I'm not saying that the miners are giving, but there are a number of financiers who are in the area," Duterte said.
He added that based on the reports of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the mines in Diwalwal have a consolidated transaction of at least P25 million per day, as its leanest margin.
Compostela Valley Governor Arturo "Chiongkee" Uy earlier said that 100 percent of the gold being extracted from Diwalwal is sold to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
"But it's not at a good price as of now," the governor said.
Uy also said the NPA is earning a lot from the gold mining operations there, such that if government can put a stop to this, the NPA will suffer a big blow.
