BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – A quarry along the Bago River in Barangay Napoles, Bago City, Negros Occidental was ordered to halt its operations after three people drowned to their deaths on Tuesday.
One of the fatalities was Riza Macatigos, a resident of Purok Paho, Barangay Napoles.
The two others were Macatigos’ nieces – a 16-year-old and an 11-year-old.
From what the Bago City police so far gathered, the victims along with Macatigos’ 13-year-old daughter were taking a bath in the river.
The kids were horseplaying and sometime later, Macatigos saw her daughter and two nieces struggling in the river prompting her to jump and help them.
Macatigos managed to save her daughter but she and her two nieces drowned to their deaths.
Following the incident, Punong Barangay Pepito Eyoy Sr. of Barangay Napoles ordered the quarry site where the three people drowned to halt their operations temporarily.
Based on information obtained by local media, the quarry site is operating on a special permit that is set to expire on April 13 of this year.
There have been numerous complaints regarding the quarry site, and the complaint even reached Malacañang after the issue was taken up by popular broadcaster Ben Tulfo.
Malacañang would later order Negros Occidental governor Eugenio Jose Lacson to take action over the residents’ complaints, and the Provincial Environment Management Office (PEMO) would later visit the site.
Further information also surfaced that back in 2021, a public hearing was conducted with regards to the quarry site, however, the residents of Purok Paho, who were heavily opposing the operation of the quarry, failed to appear.
Only the complainants from Purok Suha, Humay, and Bibi appeared in the said public hearing./PN
