Vice President and presidential candidate Leni Robredo said she favors mining, as long as it is done responsibly and that host communities.
“I am for responsible mining. We must ensure first and foremost, of course, that the environment will be protected, and that the benefits we gain from mining activities go back to local communities and contribute to holistic national development,” Robredo said before members of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines on Friday.
Should she win the country’s highest office in May,Robredo would certify as urgent the passage of the National Land Use Act, which she co-authored as a member of the 16th Congress. Before becoming Vice President, Robredo served as a congresswoman representing Camarines Sur from 2013-2016.
Robredo said, however, that while Congress deliberates the proposed law, she would signan executive order that declaring several areas in the country as “no-mining zones.”
Most advocates among the indigenous peoples sector are just pushing for reforms, according to the Vice President, which is why she believes their voices must be heard. Robredowas exposed to grassroots communities as an alternative lawyer long before joining politics.
“[An] honest-to-goodness consultation with local communities is crucial to ensure that any project rolled out should not just be accepted by the community, but should in fact, benefit them,” Robredo said.
The Vice President was responding to questions regarding mining following the lifting of the open-pit mining ban and the lifting of the moratorium on new mining agreements last year. Both bans were lifted in an effort to boost government revenues amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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