President Rodrigo Duterte’s choice of head of the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) was one of the Cabinet appointments very eagerly awaited by the nation. This is explained by the fact that BMG (Bureau of Mines and Geosciences) is a component of the DENR and the mining industry is regulated by BMG. During the election campaign, President Duterte took a position critical of the Philippine mining industry.
The new Chief Executive could have gone one of three ways in his choice of Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources. He could have chosen a number of the existing DENR hierarchy, such as an undersecretary, in the interest of continuity. Or he could have brought into the DENR a person of the conciliating type—someone who could settle all existing disputes, put an end to all discord and maintain an atmosphere of stability within the Department. Or he could have brought in a person with an enforcement mindset—someone who would seek to enforce the law strictly and punish establishments and people who violate DENR rules and regulations.
President Duterte has chosen the third option. He has appointed as Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources Regina (Gina) Lopez, a person with well-known views on the environment, particularly on the Philippine mining industry.
Of all the Cabinet-level appointments he has made, President Duterte’s appointment of Gina Lopez as Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources has undoubtedly been the most controversial. This has nothing to do with Gina Lopez’s intellectual capability or academic qualifications or professional record or work habits: the new Secretary is a member of the family of sugar-industry and ABS-CBN fame, was educated at good schools in this country and abroad, is honest and has an ample track record of involvement with NGOs (non-government organizations) in socio-economic and cultural causes. It has to do with the position that Secretary Lopez has taken publicly on the issue of mining, more specifically responsible mining.
Secretary Gina has famously stated that there is no such thing as responsible mining. “Responsible mining is an oxymoron,” she has said. In Secretary Gina’s view, there is no mining operation in this country that has not left a trail of despoliation of the environment and damage to the economy and the host communities.
Interested observers and people involved with the mining industry believe that the appointment of Gina Lopez as Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources is the most ill-advised appointment that President Duterte has made to date. The head of a Cabinet department must enter into his or her duties with an open and flexible mind, they say, but how can Secretary Gina do a good job of running DENR with a closed mind where the Philippine mining industry is concerned? Placing Gina Lopez at the helm of DENR (and, by extension, BMG) is akin, they say, to placing a wolf inside the chicken coop.
Will relations between Secretary Gina and the Philippine mining industry turn out to be stable? Or does a period of confrontation and discord lie ahead?
The mining-industry folk say that the answers to those questions are in the new DENR head’s hands. Given her expressed negative attitude toward irresponsible mining—nay, to mining in general—they are inclined to be pessimistic.
Can Secretary Gina become flexible and accommodating as she proceeds to discharge her duties? At this point that certainly does not look possible. But who knows?
As my Spanish-speaking friends would say, vamos a ver.
E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com