Guv gives team checking on quarries 20 days

Cebu Provincial Gov. Hilario Davide III ordered the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (Penro) to finish all inspection of quarry activities in 20 days, which started last Tuesday, Sept. 25.

The governor had earlier suspended all quarrying operations in the province following the landslide in Sitio Sindulan, Barangay Tina-an, Naga City, last Sept. 20.

On the first day of inspection, Penro Chief Jason Lozano said they started with small-scale operations, and found that, so far, the permittees have complied with the requirements.

The inspection team is composed of Penro staff, Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) personnel, and representatives from the concerned company.

Lozano said they also asked the barangays to report to authorities if they see cracks in their areas so they will be checked immediately.

Lozano said they will have a meeting with quarry operators today to discuss quarry safety measures, together with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-MGB 7.

Penro also conducts risk assessment, together with the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), in hazard-affected areas.

“There is risk assessment in every area. Every activity, there’s an equivalent hazard,” said Lozano.

Because of this, the Province has required all quarry operators to have their own mining engineer or consultant to look into the safety of their operations.

Quarry operators, said Lozano, must follow safety measures, such as: operators must cordon the quarry site, allowing entry only to those involved in the operations; the staff and operators must wear a colored vest so they can be seen and identified; and they must have an orientation about the quarry safety operations.

They also require operators to do benching on their quarry sites. It is a process in which a working phase that is considered too high to quarry will be mined or quarried in levels simultaneously.

“It doesn’t create slopes if they do benching,” said Lozano.

Lozano said that every quarry operation approved by the government must have a buffer and danger zone, and the quarry site must be only up to five hectares.

“The main requirement is to ensure safety,” Lozano said.