Decision on lifting...

ent today the study on this particular issue.

This was confirmed by Finance Undersecretary Bayani Agabin in a separate interview.

But when asked if the result favors the lifting of the said ban, Bayani only said he is yet to find out the "inclination of the body" but he expects "a healthy discussion during the meeting."

Cimatu, on the other hand, said he will "inhibit" from attending the meeting and implied that even if the result is already out and say the TWG will recommend the ban to be lifted, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will not instantly make a decision on it.

"The decision is either a yes or no and second is how to implement it. [Once we get the results from the MICC] we will be making study especially on the conditions and provisions, because it can't be imposed just like that," Cimatu told reporters on the sidelines of the ongoing 12th Conference of Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS-COP12) in Pasay.

"The President directed me [to look into open-pit mining oeprations in the country]. He's very emphatic on the effect of the open pit mining and the companies must talk to the communities to find out and help them," he added.

Agabin already said before that at the end of the day, it will still be up to Cimatu whether to lift the ban or not.

To recall, it was Cimatu himself who has brought the issues surrounding the administrative order banning companies to extract minerals through the open pit method to the MICC table.

This, even if he has the power to abolish the order himself since it was imposed by his predecessor Lopez.