Lack of budget crippled mining board - councilor

CEBU, Philippines - City Hall’s failure to provide the city’s Mining Regulatory Board the necessary budget for three years is said to be the reason why the board failed to detect the reported illegal quarry operations in the mountains here.

This was the explanation of Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. who headed the board at that time.

“Unsaon man, wala may inspection team ang mining board,” Pe said. Forming an inspection team would require a budget, which the board did not have at that time, he added.

The reported quarry operations have already destroyed huge parts of the mountains in Barangays San Jose and Pulangbato.

City Ordinance 2115 or the Cebu City Mining Ordinance enacted in 2007 provides that the city allocate P500,000 for the board every year, which will be accrued to the accounts of the Cebu City Planning and Development Office.

However, Pe said no allocation has figured in the actual executive budgets ever since.

Last month, Mayor Michael Rama reshuffled the membership of the different committees and boards at City Hall and among those affected is the Cebu City Mining and Regulatory Board.

Rama replaced Pe with Renato Mercado, husband of Cebu City Anti-Indecency Board (CAIB) Chairperson Lucille Mercado. In his short stint as head of the board, Mercado discovered questionable quarry operations in Barangay San Jose.

The mayor already ordered businessman Michelle Lhuillier to stop the quarry operations inside his property in Barangay San Jose because the permit granted to him only allows him to haul 1,000 cubic meters of loose earth surface materials.

Pe confirmed that Lhuillier had been granted a permit to construct “road to farms” in Barangay San Jose, but when Mercado and other members of the mining board inspected the place two weeks ago, they found out that more than constructing “road to farms,” the project actually involved quarrying.

During site inspection, the board also found out that extraction of loose earth surface materials had already gone beyond the allowable amount indicated in the hauling permit.

It was reported that Lhuillier, through a representative, already offered to pay his obligation to City Hall, but Rama, who is scheduled to arrive today from China, said earlier he is yet to discuss the matter with his team. — (FREEMAN)