ILOILO – The Provincial Government Environment and Natural Resources Office (PGENRO), and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Region 6 are intensifying their campaign against illegal quarry operations.
This came after the rockslide at an old mountain quarry site in Barangay Sulangan, Dumangas town on Saturday, Sept. 2, that killed 19-year-old Keziah Alimas.
“We will step up our enforcement (of measures) and I hope everyone will help us kay ang puersa sang gobyerno probinsyal magaburoligay,” PGENRO chief Atty. Cesar Emmanuel Buyco said in an interview with Panay News yesterday.
Buyco said he asked for MGB-6’s assistance to intensify the reinforcement of measures against illegal quarrying, particularly mountain quarrying.
The PGENRO head also asked for the cooperation of elected officials from 43 local government units (LGUs) in monitoring quarry activities in their respective areas.
“I hope makabugtaw ang aton municipal and barangay officials kay pag may matabu, kamo man gihapon ang una nga manabat sina sa mga tawo. Kay ngaa? Kay nagakatabu na sa inyo nga wala kamo kabalo,” added Buyco.
He further advised residents to report to authorities illegal quarrying in their areas.
How’s illegal quarry in the province?
“Ang naga-illegal (quarry) ni amo ni ang batinggilan na gid. Indi na sia amo na kadamo pero eksperyensyado na,” Buyco stressed.
Illegal quarrying, particularly mountain quarrying, is present from southern to northern parts of the province, according to a report received by the PGENRO.
Thus, Buyco said LGUs and residents have significant roles in preventing the illegal activities.
Those illegal quarrying or illegal quarry operators face a fine of a minimum of P1,000 and a maximum of P5,000 under the Provincial Ordinance 2017-145 that prohibits quarrying without permit.
The PGENRO will also submit an incident report to the MGB-6 that will then process the filing of charges for violation of Section 103 (Theft of Minerals) of Republic Act No. 7942 or An Act instituting a new system of mineral resources exploration, development, utilization, and conservation or this act shall be known as the “Philippine Mining Act of 1995.”
Section 103 states: “Any person extracting minerals and disposing the same without a mining agreement, lease, permit, license, or steals minerals or ores or the products thereof from mines or mills or processing plants shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned from six months to six years or pay a fine from P10,000 to P20,000 or both, at the discretion of the appropriate court.”
In addition, the illegal quarry operator shall be liable to pay damages and compensation for the minerals removed, extracted, and disposed of.
In the case of associations, partnerships, or corporations, the president and each of the directors thereof shall be responsible for the acts committed by such association, corporation, or partnership.
Buyco advised those who want to operate a quarry especially mountain quarry to apply for a permit at the PGENRO by following these steps:
* get a consent or endorsement from concerned LGU
* establish a map of the quarry area
* secure a clearance from MGB-6 that proves there is no problem in the said area
* get Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Region 6
* submit to PGENRO program of works showing the process or method of extraction
Buyco added that legal quarry operation could also receive technical assistance from PGENRO and other concerned government agencies on the implementation of post mining operation or rehabilitation program after the operation to avoid any incident of landslide or rockslide.
SITE VALIDATION IN BRGY. SULANGAN
Meanwhile, the PGENRO and MGB-6 are set to visit Barangay Sulangan to check the old quarry site and investigate why the rockslide took place.
The site validation aims to come up with geo-risk assessment and identify danger zone as basis for the Dumangas LGU in making a “no build zone” map.
“Lantawon namon ang area, kon sa diin to ang previous quarry areas and to find out kon diin to ang danger zone para matudlo man sa Disaster Risk Reduction and Management kon sa diin sila ma-declare sang ‘no build zone,’” said Buyco.
He explained that since it’s an old quarry site, it was possible that the limestones in the area softened due to rains last week that eventually resulted to a rockslide.
As of this writing, the PGENRO has yet to determine if there was a presence of illegal quarry activity in Barangay Sulangan.
PGENRO data further showed that no quarry operator had applied to extract quarry materials in the mountain area of the aforementioned barangay./PN
