Davao City bans mining activities

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The city council passed a resolution on Tuesday effectively banning mining activities here, particularly in the hinterlands of Paquibato district.

Davao City has a total land area of 244,000 square meters – considered the largest for a city in the world – and has a largely agriculture-based economy.

With the resolution, the city councilors conveyed the message to the central offices of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) that no mining activities shall be allowed in Davao City.

Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has stood firm in his stand that no mining activities, especially by foreign companies, shall be allowed in any part of Davao City.

Duterte vowed that he would never allow any mining exploration in the city in an effort to protect the environment.

Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte echoed his father’s stand against mining, saying he, too, would do anything in his power to block any mining company from exploring the city’s natural resources.

The younger Duterte said he would even join street protesters should mining firms get their way into the hinterlands of Barangays Lumiad, Mapula, Salapawan and Tapak, all in the Paquibato district.

The ban came as two large mining companies, Alberto Mining Corp. and Pensons Mining Corp., recently sought the approval of the city council to explore at least 17,000 hectares in four barangays in the Paquibato district.

Last week, the city council’s environment committee conducted a hearing on the applications of the two mining companies. 

But councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, who heads the committee, said he would recommend the disapproval of the applications now pending before the MGB central office.