The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Regina Paz Lopez visited the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Central Office during the General Assembly held on September 20 and 26, 2016 at the MGB Central Office garden.

"The key to moving forward is to let go of the old," Lopez said during her speech at General Assembly on Tuesday morning of September 20.

"Throw away all old files. Just let it go," she instructed the MGB personnel. Old, cluttered files and equipment that aren't working anymore should be disposed of. Desks should be cleared and decluttered before the weekend to make way for the space clearing activity. "Keep the things you like; I want you to be happy. You work for 8 hours," she added. This was in preparation for a space clearing activity that was held at the MGB Central Office during the weekend.

Secretary Gina Lopez also shared the values that she wants the DENR and its Bureaus and attached agencies to live by: truth, service and common good.

She encouraged everyone to dream for the country while she shared her dream for the mining industry in the Philippines, to be better than Australia and Canada. Citing Canada as an example, she wants abandoned open-pit mines to be rehabilitated and turned into eco-tourism sites. She implied that miners should put emphasis on the welfare of the affected communities in terms of health, sustainable livelihood and environmental care. "We cannot build an economy based on suffering. Not a good idea at all," she added.

By: Mineral Economics, Information and Publication Division

DENR Secretary Gina Lopez during her speech at the MGB General Assembly on September 20, 2016.

DENR Secretary Gina Lopez during a flower offering ceremony on September 26, 2016.