Gov Tamayo, Bishop Casicas to appeal to DENR ban on open pit mining

After the court decision on the open pit mining issue, Governor Reynaldo S. Tamayo Jr. will appeal to the national government to ban open pit mining in South Cotabato.
Tamayo said that he would negotiate with DENR Secretary Antonia Loyzaga together with Bishop Cerilo Casicas after the Holy Week.
“I want the national government to be clarified about the issue and seek their approval on the ban since this is what the people of South Cotabato want.” He said,
He added that he has his personal opinion on the issue but the voice of the majority should prevail.
” Bilang gobernador ng probinsiya, ako ang magiging Boses ng nakararami.” the governor stressed,
During the ” Governor Meets the Press” held earlier this week, Governor Tamayo explained that based on RA 7942, the law states that the large scale is under the supervision of the national government, while the small-scale mining is under the local government.
The Diocese of Marbel after receiving the information on the decision on the appeal against the Koronadal Regional Trial Court’s upholding of the open-pit mining ban visited Governor Tamayo on the plan of action of the province regarding the said decision.
In its statement, the Diocese states that they are unperturbed by the decision of the Court of Appeals. They reiterated that they remain firm with their stand on the risks that the open pit mining operation will cause to the environment.
Governor Tamayo on the other hand is hopeful that the plan to negotiate with the national government will bear positive results for the province.