DENR’s Gina Lopez unyielding amid threats to block her appointment

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Gina Lopez remains firm in her decision to close "destructive mining" operations in the country, brushing aside threats from groups wanting to block confirmation of her appointment.

"Bahala na. I can't do anything. I really feel there should be no mining in watersheds and I keep my stand. Let them do what they want to do, Lopez said in an interview with Jessica Soho on GMA News' "State of the Nation (SONA)" late Wednesday.

Her move to shut down 23 "erring" mining operations and cancel the environmental clearance certificate (ECC) of  the $5.9-billion Tampakan project, as well as 75 mineral production sharing agreements (MPSA), has drawn the ire of big mining interest.

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP), one of the groups strongly opposed to Lopez's "anti-mining" policies, reportedly wrote to lawmakers on February 13 saying that "she does not have the administrative experience and competence to lead the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and has a poor track record in leading and managing environmental and eco-tourism projects."

Asked by Soho if she is "anti-mining" as the chamber claimed, Lopez said made it clear where she's coming from. "I'm pro-people and pro-common good. Fifteen of the operations that we closed are in watershed [areas] ... And then the 75 MPSAs that we withdrew – and they were not operating anyway – are in watersheds."

She claimed that big miners, after extracting the minerals, just leave the mining areas and what's left of a ravaged environment with no rehabilitation program in place.

But COMP Vice President for Legal and Policy Matters Ronald Recidoro told Soho in a separate interview on SONA that miners have actually restored the mining areas at the end of the mine life.

"Matapos po natin tanggalin lahat ng minerals underground, responsibilidad po ng minero na ibalik 'yung kanyang tinanggal na lupa, taniman ito ng bagong puno at ibalik lahat ng kanyang dinis-place na hayop at halaman doon sa lugar."

Recidoro lamented that Secretary Lopez only showcased mining areas that are still active and are not a pretty sight.

"Kasi ang ipinapakita niya ngayon mga active mining areas. Ang active mining areas, ako na po ang unang magsasabi sa inyo, pangit po talaga 'yan," he said.

But Lopez denied what Recidoro was claiming. "That's why we took it. You saw the date. I took it myself. I mean, I have a cameraman. January 17, January 18. That was two weeks ago," the Cabinet official said.

Big players in the mining industry assailed the closure, suspension and cancellation orders issued by Lopez, prompting Malacañang to intervene and put on hold DENR's shut down and suspension orders. No less than President Rodrigo Duterte himself supposedly said during a Cabinet meeting last week that "due process" must be followed.

But Lopez was unfazed. "My stand is that the quality of life of people – the water for agriculture, the water for drinking – is more important than any of the money they make," she said.

"And, anyway, with whatever money they make, 82 percent of whatever they put in the net revenue goes to them and then 95 percent of that money goes out of the local economy. So who needs investments like these that will kill our river, our stream?" she said. —LBG/VDS, GMA News