ILOILO – Huge volumes of sand and aggregates were being quarried from portions of the Jalaur River in Barangay Balud, Zarraga town and Barangay Bantud Fabrica, Dumangas. Is the quarrying legal?
Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) member Rolando Distura, former mayor of Dumangas, called for an investigation.
Barangay officials of Bantud Fabrica described the quarrying as “massive” and they feared adverse environmental consequences, said Distura.
He checked the areas himself, according to the SP member, and he saw three to four huge wooden-hulled boats locally known as batil being loaded with quarried sand and aggregates.
Each boat could carry between 17 to 24 cubic meters of quarried materials, said Distura, chairperson of the SP Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management.
Information reached him that the quarried materials were being sold in the nearby island province of Guimaras.
The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office should be asked if it had issued permits to quarry the Jalaur River in Barangay Balud, Zarraga and Barangay Bantud Fabrica, Dumangas, said Distura.
From what he had gathered, the barangays concerned were never given their rightful share from the quarrying, said Distura.
“I am at a loss…I feel it would be counterproductive to point fingers at this time…I am calling for an in-depth investigation. Time is of the essence. These activities, if found to be illegal, must be stopped and the perpetrators punished,” said Distura.
He warned of erosion at the quarried portions of the Jalaur River in Barangay Balud, Zarraga and Barangay Bantud Fabrica, Dumangas.
Distura urged the SP Committee on Environment and Natural Resources chaired by Provincial Board member Marcelo Valentine Serag to conduct an investigation although his own committee may also initiate one.
The Jalaur River, also known as Jalaud River, is the second longest river in Panay Island and the second largest by drainage basin, only Panay River in Capiz has the longest and the largest river system in Panay.
Jalaur river ranked 17th largest river system in the Philippines in terms of drainage basin size. It has an estimated drainage area of 1,503 square kilometers and travels 123 kilometers from its source to its mouth in the Guimaras Strait.
It drains the eastern portion of Panay Island and traverses through Passi City and the towns of Calinog, Dueñas, San Enrique, Dingle, Pototan, Barotac Nuevo, Dumangas, Zarraga, and Leganes.
The river is of great economic importance to the province of Iloilo. It provides irrigation to farmlands as well as a source of potable water.
The lower reaches of the Jalaur River experiences seasonal flooding. When there is heavy downpour, during the months of June to September, the river overflows and floods the surrounding area./PN
