Local officials, NGOs decry illegal quarrying in Inagawan Subcolony

The Sangguniang Barangay ( SB) of the Inagawan Subcolony and the Environmental Legal Assistance Center ( ELAC) have called on Mayor Lucilo Bayron to stop the alleged operation of illegal quarrying in a critical river area in Sitio Tacduan by a private contractor. Counc i lor Hernando Dancil of Inagawan Subcolony said Sunday that instead of their proposal to dredge a river in Purok Otso so they could have aggregates for the rehabilitation of their feeder roads, BCT Trading and Construction is now quarrying in Tacduan. Between March 28 to April 26, he said around 203 truckloads of gravel and sand had already been hauled from the area. The figure is based on delivery receipts said to be approved and signed by City Environment and Natural Resources Office ( CENRO) chief Atty. Carlo Gomez. “Ang resolusyon namin ay i- dredge para sa rehabilitasyon ng aming feeder roads. Pero ang nangyari niyan ay walang naibuhos kahit isang baldeng graba doon sa aming mga feeder roads na siyang pakay ng pagpasa namin ng resolusyon,” Dancil said. In their approved resolution, he said the area they are proposing to dredge is at Purok Otso, not in Tacduan river. Inagawan Subcolony Barangay Chairman Filipinas Acantillado, he said, told them that their dredging request was approved by Mayor Lucilo Bayron and Atty. Gomez. “Noong nagpalitan kami ng kuro- kuro sa session sa barangay,

ang sabi niya ( Acantillado) huwag na daw namin sabihin sa mga kabarangay yong tungkol sa quarry at itanong na lang daw namin kay mayor. Ang ipinagtataka namin doon sila nagsalok ng graba samantalang ang pino- propose namin ay doon sa Purok Otso. Noong na- aprubahan, bakit sa Tacduan?” Dancil said. He reiterated that the Sangguniang Barangay has no knowledge about the quarrying operation that has been going on in the Tacduan timberland area, which is under a 25- year moratorium imposed in 2011. Barangay Councilor Reynaldo Justo said that illegal quarrying activities must be stopped immediately to prevent further degradation of the river. “Kaya din kami narito para humingi ng tulong sa mga agencies na concerned sa kalikasan para makita ng ating government na iyong quarry area ngayon ay nasasalaula na. Hindi na nagiging maayos ang pagkuha ng gravel and sand dito sa area ng Tacduan,” he said. Justo urged Bayron to send his personnel to the river to see the situation, and to order the private construction company to stop its quarrying activities. Justo and Dancil accused their barangay chairman of misleading them about the approval of their resolution by the city government. “Dinadaya na nila ang taong barangay. Dinaya nila, niloko nila kami. Para sa dredging namin iyan bakit nakarating sa BCT? Hindi sila sumunod sa purpose kung saan talaga gagamitin iyong aming ni- re- request,” said Justo. Atty. Grizelda Mayo- Anda, executive director of ELAC, echoed the two barangay councilors’ call for the city government to stop the alleged illegal quarrying, especially because there is an existing moratorium that has not been lifted. She said the area is also classified as a “core zone” that acts as a reference point on the natural state of the ecosystem in the area. “Quarrying activities cannot be allowed in light of the moratorium. Yong nakita naming ilog sa Tacduan, nakakabagabag iyong sira. Kasi yong bank of the river ay kinalkal na at kinuha ang fine sand, at walang monitoring doon,” she said. Anda said the barangays dredging request is only to clean out the river bed for the purpose of fixing feeder roads. What happened, however, was the destruction of both river banks. “Kami sususugan namin na immediately stop the quarrying activities. Immediately stopped kasi may moratorium, at wala ngang environmental compliance certificate,” Anda said. In celebration of April as Earth Month, she said there is a need to completely stop the quarrying as it is posing danger to the river. Meanwhile, City Councilor Jonjie Rodriguez, the chairman of the environment committee in the Sangguniang Panlungsod, said they will decide if they will allow quarrying and dredging activities intended for the maintenance of the roads in the barangays. “May recomendation na i- allow na ang quarry dahil sa paniniwala na kailangan na itong gawin. Tama naman ‘ yon, actually kung halimbawang magkaroon ng dredging at ang makukuhang mga graba ay gamitin sa pag- maintain ng mga kalsada. Yon din ang intention ng committee once na i- allow natin ‘ yan,” he said. Gomez, meanwhile, said that the alleged illegal quarrying in Barangay Inagawan Subcolony is part of the city government’s dredging activity to unclog rivers and prevent flooding come rainy season. He said the City Mining Regulatory Board ( CMRB) has acted on a request of the barangay and tapped a private contractor to conduct dredging in a river heavily filled with sediments in Tacduan. “Talagang yung river bed niyan ay lagpas na sa river bank niya na kapag umulan talagang aapaw ang tubig doon sa area. And there are residents in the area, plus we’re trying to protect infrastructures like roads and bridges na pwedeng sirain ng flood,” he told Palawan News. Since the city government has no capacity to do the dredging, Gomez said the CMRB asked the Mines and Geosciences Bureau ( MGB) if it can nominate a private contractor on its behalf. “Acknowledging the lack of capacity ng city government to conduct dredging, considering that pinaalam natin sa MGB ito and it is allowed to nominate a private contractor. Ang pinaka- compensation na lang nila dun is ‘ yong waste material noong dredging,” he said. He said the city’s primary instruction to whoever will be nominated is to conduct dredging and to fortify the banks. “Ang primary instruction natin dun sa whoever was nominated to conduct dredging is to fortify the river banks, that’s the main purpose. Kung makikita natin na they violate the conditions that we imposed then we will put a stop on this,” he said. Contrary to the claim of ELAC, he added that they have so far seen no destruction on the river banks. “The purpose is not quarrying. The purpose is for the protection of the community at saka ng government infrastructures dun sa area,” he said. Gomez also said the dredging costs no expenses on the part of the City government. Gomez said the CMRB requires the contractor to pay an administrative fee of P150 per cubic meter at the City Treasurer’s Office. In the past, he said the city government also caused dredgings in the flood- prone barangays of Maoyon, Concepcion, Tanabag, Langogan, Napsan and Montible. “We didn’t hear any complaint of flooding kasi nga we were able to address the dredging issue. When we went back to the drawing board, syempre nakared alert na sa amin ang Inagawan kasi nga ito ang nag- suffer last year so this time we suggested we should implement what should be done,” he added.