Quarry ban lifted except in Naga, Carmen

The ban on small-scale quarry operations across Cebu Province has been lifted by the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO), except for the ones in the City of Naga and the municipality of Carmen.

The cracks in a site in Carmen and the massive landslides in Naga prompted PENRO to exclude them.

PENRO Chief Jayson Lozano said the technical opinion of a geologist and other mining experts will still be needed in lifting the ban.

On top of that, corrective measures must also be undertaken.

For Naga City, Lozano said it was the suggestion of Mayor Kristine Vanessa Chiong to not lift yet the ban in light of the landslide tragedy, which claimed over 70 lives in September.

While the ban is lifted in most parts of the province, PENRO continues to monitor the implementation of corrective measures to neutralize potential hazards.

In Talisay City, PENRO suggested to QM Builders to implement a “benching method” on their quarry site to mitigate the risk of having a disastrous landslide.

The firm is given 90 days to address the issue.

Some families residing near the quarry site in Barangay Lagtang in Talisay City have evacuated due to fear that an incident similar to Naga would happen in their vicinity. The villagers reported rockfall events since last month.

There are still 19 families in the evacuation center, according to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) spokesperson Jules Regner.

In Tuburan town, the barangays, which had sightings of limestone cracks, were asked to write reports and submit them to their Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office heads.

It stemmed from some Tuburan citizens’ posts on social media raising concerns on a “quarry operation” in a site development, just a stone’s throw awayfromaschool.—Lorraine