PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has authorized the lifting of a nearly 9-year moratorium on new mineral agreements in a bid to generate job opportunities and spur countryside growth.

In Executive Order (EO) 130, Duterte amended EO 79 issued by former president Benigno Aquino 3rd in 2012 that suspended applications for mineral contracts in protected areas, prime agricultural lands, tourism development areas, and other critical places like island ecosystems, among others.