Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. (Photo: AFP/VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on September17 repeated his desire to shut all mines in the country following deadlylandslides that some government officials and large miners said have beenexacerbated by illegal small-scale mining.
"If I were to try to do my thing I will close all miningin the Philippines," Duterte said at a televised meeting of thegovernment's disaster response team two days after a powerful typhoon namedMangkhut struck the country.
Earlier, Philippine Environment and Natural ResourcesSecretary Roy Cimatu ordered the closure of all small-scale mining areas in theCordillera region, where landslides killed 24 people.
Illegal mining is popular in the Philippines. Government officials said thatthe illegal small-scale mining has resulted in increasing numbers of causalitiesin landslides.
On September 16, at least 30 miners were killed and 13 others went missing whena landslide occurred in Itogon, a small town in the northern province of Benguet.
Local authorities revealed that typhoon Mangkhut caused a total of 81 landslidesand 13 flooding incidents in the Cordillera region.
The island state is hit by about 20 storms each year, causinghuge damage on human and property. In 2013, super typhoon Haiyan swept throughLeyte province in central Philippines, killing more than 6,000 people.-VNA
VNA
