My life, as well as the lives of thousands like me, has been built on the mining industry. Our daily bread, our hopes for a better future, all strong matches upon the very operation that this proposed ban seeks to extinguish. However, recent natural disasters have supervised  in a stream of blame towards the mining industry, with the resulting laterite displacement cited as a severe consequence.

Evidence does point towards mining-related runoff causing some level of damage, but that's far from the complete story. The broad accusation of the entire mining sector fails to adopt a sensitive approach that considers other contributing factors.

Yes, the mining sector has to keep on improving its environmental activities, but an across-the-board 50-year ban threaten the living of hundreds of thousands of families like mine who depend on their livelihood from this industry. The ban also puts the jobs of 1.2 million individuals directly and indirectly working for the mining sector in our nation and for what? A one-dimensional solution to a problem that obviously requires a multifaceted, complex answer.

In addition to this RTNMC is deeply integrated into the community with our barangay being part of the 22 barangays that are receiving countless benefits. Also recognizing also 11 indigenous cultural communities in the impact barangay and another 11 groups on the non-impact ones.

Not only this but the students of LSVMS that are mining dependent received a subsidy from the mining company when applying for education on Leonides S. Virata Memorial School greatly reducing the money it takes to enroll their children in these quality private schools.

We need to call upon our government to revisit the stringency of the proposed moratorium on mining and take into account the livelihoods involved and the contribution of other variables to environmental degradation. Let us call for a more comprehensive investigation of the actual perpetrators of environmental ruin instead of blaming one whole industry. Your name can help sign this petition and assist in safeguarding significant jobs and the future of our community.