Environmentalists urge Duterte: Punish destructive mining groups

MANILA, Philippines – A group of environmentalists commended president-elect Rodrigo Duterte for his recent pronouncements on punishing destructive big miners. 

The Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (PNE) is also proposing that Duterte punish mining groups that have extensive track records on environmental destruction, community displacement and human rights violations but were not sanctioned by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources or its Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).

“We welcome Mayor Duterte’s ultimatum against destructive large-scale mining and encourage him to expand his scope to cover not only the worst in Mindanao, but across Luzon and the Visayas as well,” said Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of Kalikasan PNE.

He added that “there are so much violations and destruction brought about by corporate mining all over the country, yet the Aquino administration had been very lax in penalizing these corporations and prosecuting their erring officials.”

In his recent victory party speech, Duterte said the big miners have destroyed the environment especially in Mindanao, and promised that Filipino interests will be prioritized over corporate interest in mining.

The MGB reported that half of the 44 operating metallic mines in the country have repeatedly been warned because of environmental violations.

But Kalikasan noted that only a few mining companies have been slapped with suspension orders and that no corporate mining executives have been prosecuted in court. The violations allegedly vary from toxic contamination and air or water pollution to forest and agricultural degradation.

“These big mines are notorious violators of environmental laws and have time and again trampled upon people’s rights in their host grassroots communities,” Bautista said.

“President-elect Duterte can expect massive support from the protest movements by affected communities. We challenge the incoming president to suspend these large-scale mining companies and cancel their mining permits,” he added.