Dinagat Islands Representative Kaka Bag-ao asked if mining is still necessary in the provinces, especially in the mountains, after the severe damage caused by typhoons Tino and Uwan.
Bag-ao said that people's lives are more important than profits from mining, which the local community does not feel. “If you look, many mountains are bare of trees. In areas affected by mining, people ask, ‘What is more important—life or profits from mining?’ This is an important question for the islanders,” he explained.
He added that it should also be asked whether national projects such as mining should continue in areas where the mountains should be protected, rather than just the government making profits that hardly reach the residents.
During his visit to an island with three barangays, only two houses remained intact after Tino passed through. The Dinagat Islands were also recently declared under a state of calamity due to damage from the typhoon.
Bag-ao called for more attention to be paid to the safety and livelihood of locals than to profits from mining.
