President Duterte is considering the “eventual closure” of open-pit mining in the country due to the damage caused on the environment.

The President said he agreed with former Environment Secretary Gina Lopez who recently opposed the proposed lifting of the ban on open-pit mining.

“I asked General (Roy) Cimatu, who is the Secretary of the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources), to look into the eventual closure of the open-pit mining. I agree with Gina Lopez that that has to stop some time,” Duterte said during a media interview in Taguig City.

“But I’ll give the mining companies enough elbow room to make room on eventual change on the modality of getting what’s inside the bowels of the earth,” he added.

Lopez earlier imposed a ban on open-pit mining in the country during her short stint at the DENR. She was replaced by Cimutu after her appointment was rejected by the Commission on Appointments.

Recently, Lopez, a known environmental protection advocate, has asked the President to prevent the lifting of the ban on open-pit mining being proposed by some officials. She warned that open-pit mining has caused damage on the environment and suffering to the communities.