Illegal quarries continue to pose a problem: dad

City Councilor Pastor Alcover says this will be his last appeal to the mayor to act on the matter or he will make a citizen’s arrest and block the trucks from passing

Haulers operating without a permit and an ECC

STOP the illegal quarrying in upland barangays, Cebu City Councilor Pastor Alcover Jr., asked the executive department.

Alcover yesterday said his request has not been acted on even after he formally asked Mayor Tomas Osmeña about it when he delivered a privilege speech in the City Council last September.

He had asked Osmeña to reconvene the City Mining Regulatory Board to help solve the problem.

The councilor said quarry operators are extracting materials from the mountains without a permit and an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7.

Specific locations

Engr. William Cuñado of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of DENR 7 has identified four persons, who operate illegal quarries in Barangays Bacayan, Pit-os, Binaliw and Agsungot.

EMB 7 has asked Alcover to provide them with specific locations of these quarries, so they can dispatch field personnel to investigate.

The trucks that haul the materials from the quarries have also damaged roads, particularly the one from Barangay Pit-os to Binaliw, Alcover said.

An average of 40 trucks use the road, every day, he said. Most of the trucks operate at night to avoid getting caught, he said.

“Until now, the mayor has not acted on it. I even called the attention of the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office during one of the budget hearings in the City Council to please act on this because it has damaged the roads already. The residents have been complaining about it,” he said.

Alcover said this will be his last appeal to the mayor. If the latter continues to ignore the matter, he said he will make a citizen’s arrest and block the trucks from passing the road.

When sought for comment, Osmeña said the heavy equipment that were bought during former mayor Michael Rama’s term can’t be used.