MANILA, Philippines — The government will honor the outcome of the province of South Cotabato’s public consultations on the proposed lifting of the open-pit mining ban, specifically in the municipality of Tampakan, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). In a statement, DENR officer-in-charge Secretary Jim Sampulna said the government would respect the outcome of the public hearings called by the provincial board on the proposed amendments to the Environment Code. Sampulna was invited by South Cotabato Vice Gov. Vicente de Jesus to the multi-sectoral consultati…