ANTIQUE – To protect roads and bridges in this province and guarantee their longevity, Gov. Rhodora Cadiao is set to release an executive order temporarily stopping the transport of sand and gravel from Antique to other provinces in Western Visayas.
Currently, Cadiao is seeking guidance from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Antique Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) to enforce a temporary halt to the transport of quarry materials by not releasing the Ore Transport Permit (OTP) of quarry trucks.
The governor received a report that more than 50 percent of the province’s sand and gravel are sent all over the region, especially in Iloilo for the “build, build, build” project of the national government.
“Is it true that 60 to 70 percent of the sand and gravel in Iloilo is being taken from Antique? Is it true that we… Antique’s the one supplying the bulk of the sand and gravel for the “build, build, build” in Iloilo? It is true that Antique has been very generous in its natural wealth by giving Iloilo the sand and gravel that they need,” Cadiao asked district engineer Mark Anthony M. Alejo of DPWH Region 6 during an inter-agency meeting at the provincial capitol on Sept. 27, together with the members of the local press, with regards to the Buhang-Egaña bridge’s collapse.
Cadiao disclosed that the number of quarry operators in Antique whom the provincial government issued permits to quarry has not significantly increased, but she observed that she has been signing several more OTPs and most of them are going to Iloilo.
The governor believes stopping or reducing heavy duty vehicles, such as trucks carrying sand and gravel, that pass through will protect the roads and bridges in Antique.
One cited example was the recent Buhang-Egaña bridge incident, where an overloaded 10-wheeler truck passing through the bridge connecting Sibalom and Hamtic towns, overstrained the infrastructure, causing it to collapse.
During the Sept. 27 inter-agency meeting, it was learned that the truck involved in the incident was bound for Pavia, Iloilo.
Meanwhile, Cadiao recommends the use of a barge in transporting quarry materials for those who want to obtain sand and gravel from Antique going to concerned provinces./PN
