PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has not lifted the ban on open-pit mining in the country, Malacañang said on Monday.
"I verified this personally with the President. He says that the ban on new open pit mining remains," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque told Palace reporters.
"This is one of the instances when I personally asked the President if there has been a change in the policy and he says that there's still no new policy on this. There's still a ban on new open pit mining," he added.
This was Roque's statement following the recommendation of the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) to reverse the order of former Environment secretary Regina Paz Lopez to ban open-pit mining.
Lopez had issued Administrative Order 2017-10, disallowing the open-pit method of extracting gold, copper, silver, and complex ores.
The MICC recommended on October 24 that open-pit mining operations be restored by reversing Lopez's DENR Administrative Order 2017-10.
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, co-chair of MICC who supports the lifting of open-pit mining, earlier said he would endorse to Duterte the council's resolution in a Cabinet meeting scheduled last November 6.
Roque, however, said he was not privy as to whether the MICC's recommendation has reached the President.
"That's the response I got. I'm not sure about whether or not the MICC recommendation has reached the President. I will verify," he said.
In September, Duterte expressed support for Lopez's order , citing the adverse effects of open-pit mining.
Duterte likewise said he was studying the possible "eventual closure of the open-pit mining."
"I agree with Gina Lopez. That has to stop some time. But I'll give the mining companies enough elbow room (for) eventual change or the modality of getting what's inside the bowels of the earth," said Duterte in September. (SunStar Philippines)