“As the People’s Mining Bill is re-filed in Congress once again, it is truly high time not just to suspend erring mining companies but to decisively pass a new policy that will end the vicious cycle of resource plunder, environmental destruction, and people’s suffering,” said Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, in a press statement. An environmental group on Tuesday expressed support for the re-filing of the People’s Mining Act, urging the Duterte administration to prioritize the proposed measure’s enactment into law. House Bill (HB) 171 or the People’s Mining Act aims for the “appropriate utilization [and] sound management” of the country’s mineral resource in order to achieve national industrialization and agricultural modernization. ADVERTISEMENTThe bill was first proposed in 2011. It was refiled by one of its co-authors, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate, who is also the chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer August 09, 2016 10:18 UTC