Only Duterte Can Stop Philippine Mining Shutdowns, Says Official Who Ordered It
- Gina Lopez sticks to guns as mining council reviews order
- Only President can tell me what to do, Lopez tells briefing
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Only President Rodrigo Duterte or the Philippine courts can stop a directive to shut more than half the nation’s metallic mines, according to Gina Lopez, the environment secretary who has ordered the closures.
“It’s going to be very difficult to move me,” Lopez said Thursday after a meeting of the mining council that she co-heads with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez. The Mining Industry Coordinating Council, composed of cabinet officials and industry representatives, can only make recommendations and is “not in a position to tell me what to do,” she said.