Congressman Pichay emphasized that mining firms have a large contribution to the economy and Sec. Lopez is “crazy” to close them down.
Crazy is the word chosen by Surigao Del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay Jr. to describe Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Sec. Gina Lopez for closing all mining firms down despite their large contribution to the Philippine economy.
In the House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee hearing over the Department of Trade and Industry’s proposed budget amounting to P4.766 billion for 2017, Pichay asked Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Sec. Ramon Lopez as to how much mining and its products are contributing to the country at large.
A big chunk of mining products are exported to China which is one of the country’s major trading partners.
Lopez said, mining products constitute $600 million of the $6 billion export market to China.
Pichay immediately took the opportunity to criticize Environment Sec. Lopez for wanting to end all mining firms’ operations.
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