KALIBO, Aklan – Mayor William Lachica has ordered the stoppage of river dredging activities in Barangay Bakhaw Norte in this capital town.
Lachica said the STL Panay Resources, Inc. conducted the dredging activities without securing necessary documents.
The company has not secured a permit from the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) for the dredging, according to SB member Daisy Briones.
Lachica added, “I have also received numerous complaints from the residents in Barangay Bakhaw Norte.”
According to the mayor, the residents are against the dredging operations, which are part of the project aimed at solving the flood problem in Aklan.
The SB has also passed a resolution for the stoppage of the dredging activities.
Representatives from the STL Panay Resources, Inc. have met with members of the SB several times for a dialogue regarding the dredging project.
The SB has not yet given the company its nod.
But Engineer Roger Vergara from STL Panay Resources, Inc. said they have already got the approval of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Aklan provincial government.
A vessel and a barge for the dredging activities were deployed to the area last month.
In 2016, the DENR, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Immigration ordered the dredging operations in Kalibo to stop after residents reported seeing foreigners working in the dredging vessel.
Vergara said there has not been a case filed against their company – that is why their dredging activities continue./PN
