IRRESPONSIBLE mining
must stop as it is destroying the land of promise, the incoming President
Rodrigo Duterte said in his speech during the "One Love, One Nation #DU31
Thanksgiving Party" evening of Saturday, June 4.
Speaking
before an estimated 300,000 people who attended the Saturday night party at the
Davao Crocodile Park, Duterte dared the mining industry players in Davao to
"shape up," otherwise he will force them to shift to other
businesses.
"I
have a big problem with mining companies, they are despoiling the land, they
are destroying Mindanao, the soil of our country," he said.
He
mentioned that most of the big mining companies, especially in Surigao del
Norte, must stop operations.
Back
in 2011, the Tribal Coalition of Mindanao filed a petition for a "Writ of
Kalikasan" before the Supreme Court against the mining companies in
Surigao del Norte, including Taganito Mining Corp. (TMC), Platinum Group Metals
Corp. (PGMC), Oriental Synergy Mining Corp., Shenzou Mining Group Corp and
Marcventures Mining Development Corp. on grounds of "destroying and
polluting the ancestral domain by failing to provide proper siltation venues
for their nickel mines, thereby irreversibly damaging marine resources,
mangroves, corals and creating serious health risks to the tribes and
inhabitants of the provinces of Surigao del Norte and even Surigao del
Sur."
But
in an en banc resolution dated June 28, 2011, the SC resolved to remand the
Petition for a Writ of Kalikasan with prayer for Temporary Environmental
Protection Order (Tepo) to Court of Appeals in Cagayan de Oro City, saying the
petition "does not demonstrate sufficient factual and legal allegations,
as well as evidentiary support required under the Rules of Procedure for
Environmental Cases."
This
can all change with the new administration.
Duterte
reiterated his stand that he is not against mining for as long as it upholds
the most stringent of environmental standards and requirements.
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