(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) Kalikasan PNE expressed fear in a statement Thursday, April 15 that the move–made official by an Executive Order (EO)–might lead to more disasters during the time of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. “[President] Duterte’s order to lift the mining agreement moratorium will be a disaster upon disaster because the Mining Act of 1995 is still in place. We cannot allow this deluge of destructive large-scale mining when communities are still suffering from the converging pandemic and climate crises,” said Leon Dulce, the group’s national coordinator. “The Mining Act encourages the opening up of mineral lands to up to 100 percent ownership by foreign corporations. It does not orient the mining industry to extract based on people’s needs, but based on unfettered corporate greed,” Dulce noted.