Confusion over mining regulation

We do not disagree with Gina Lopez’s appointment to head the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); as a matter of fact, there is a certain admirable logic in President Rodrigo Duterte’s choice of an avowed champion of the environment to lead the department tasked with properly managing and protecting it.

Over the weekend, however, it was revealed that four mining companies recommended for suspension as a result of the strict environmental and regulatory compliance audit ordered by Lopez and begun on July 8 have been nominated by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) – the very agency conducting the audit – for the prestigious Presidential Mineral Industry Environmental Award (PMIEA). The timing of the nominations suggests that the vetting and selection process by the MGB was carried out while the audit process was underway, or shortly after it was completed.