THE Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) will meet on Friday to review the orders by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on the closure and suspension of mining operations, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez II said on Tuesday.
Dominguez said the review was sought to make sure that the decision to shutdown the operations of the mining firms was “in line with due process.”
“This is not a question of power over or dictating. It’s a question of clarification, of making sure that President Duterte’s stand of honoring contracts and following due process are followed. That’s all it is,” he said in a press conference.
“The second meeting of the technical working group [of MICC] will be held this Friday and we are going to start the work to make sure that all the issuance regarding those mining were done through due process.”
DENR Secretary Gina Lopez ordered the closure of 23 mining operations and the suspension of five others. A week after, she announced the cancellation of 75 mining agreements.
Dominguez said the MICC’s technical working group would be composed of professors, engineers, and lawyers from private sectors “to review actions recommended [by the DENR and that to determine if it] followed due process.”
He noted that the government would lose about P821 million every year, following the order to stop the mining operations.
Dominguez said he wants to make sure that Lopez “is in firm grounds when she does [the closure orders].”
He is confident that Lopez will welcome the opportunity for the MICC to find out if the closure orders are based on existing laws.
“Well, as I explained to her directly, I mentioned to her that I want to make sure that whatever findings she makes, sticks,” Dominguez said.
“And of course, if there are some lapses in the due process, they can always correct it. They can always correct the lapses in the due process and proceed with what they want, as long as the due process, as specified by law, has been followed,” he added.
Dominguez said the technical working group may take three months to review the orders. (VoxPop Philippines)
