PB, Toledo council to pass anti-quarrying ordinances

CEBU, Philippines- The Cebu Provincial Board and the Toledo City Council have agreed to come up with respective ordinances totally banning the quarrying in Sapang-daku River in Toledo City.

The City Council is eyeing to upgrade its resolution stopping the sand and gravel extraction operations in the Sapangdaku River for the next five years to an ordinance.

The resolution for the immediate stoppage of all quarrying operations was passed on November 4, 2013. It pointed out that quarrying has “greatly destroyed the river’s natural environment and equilibrium.”

The moratorium is still in effect.

Board Member Grecilda Sanchez, who represents the third legislative district in the Provincial Board, proposed that the total ban will include any processing of aggregates in Sapangdaku River, believing it might be used as an excuse to access the area.

Toledo City officials led by Mayor John Henry Osmeña appeared before the Provincial Board during its regular session yesterday to discuss the move of the city and the provincial governments for the Sapangdaku River.

Both the city and the Capitol considered the creation of an ad hoc committee to look after the rehabi-litation of the Sapangdaku River following the devastation of the river from illegal quarrying operations.

Osmeña supported the move of the City Council and the PB, , saying the protection of the area has been his concern since he assumed office.

“I welcome the move of the PB and the City Council. It (ban) should be absolute and unequivocal,” he said.

Lawyer Czareem Joseph Estella, chief of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office, said the province has not issued any quarry permit to operators in Toledo City since Governor Hilario Davide III assumed post in July 2013,

PENRO approves and issues permits for small-scale mining sites with only five hectares or less, while the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is responsible for giving permits to large-scale mining companies.

The Provincial Board earlier passed a resolution authored by third district Board Member Alex Binghay prohibiting the use of backhoe in river quarrying in Cebu, noting that the equipment would only cause deep excavation on river beds and uneven elevations.  (FREEMAN)