PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday pledged to address the deadlock on mining industry once the armed conflict in Marawi City ends.
Duterte reaffirmed the belief of then Environment Secretary Gina Lopez, a staunch anti-mining advocate, that illegal operation of some mining firms are "destructive" to the country.
He then called out the "rich" who are into mining activities to ensure that they are following mining rules and regulations.
"I will institute reforms after all my troubles in Marawi City. I have to solve the mining impasse. Mining impasse, I'm warning the rich because Gina was right that it's really destructive," Duterte said in a speech at the 26th anniversary of Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.
"The farm was denuded and I do not even see a single tree planted. And the devastation to the rice fields resulted in failure to plant there. The fish pond, it's all poisoned," he added.
Duterte has been supportive on Lopez's anti-mining stance while she was still the head of Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Lopez, however, failed to secure the nod of the Commission on Appointments in May following her order to shut down the operations of 23 mining firms and cancel the 75 mining agreements.
Although Lopez is no longer the Environment Secretary, Duterte said he has to correct the "many injustices" because of illegal mining operations.
He said he would not allow iniquity to thrive, promising to make proper actions to end irregularities in mining.
"This cannot go on. If you want, the rich people pay the [poor] for the damages you've done. So if he has lost P100,000 a hectare, pay them since you are rich because of mining," he said.
"There are so many injustices here that we have to correct but just give me time," the Chief Executive added. (SunStar Philippines)
