After Apo Land: Capitol to inspect Taiheiyo's quarry ops

CEBU, Philippines — After scrutinizing the quarry activities of the Apo Land Quarry Corporation (ALQC) in the city Naga, the Cebu provincial government is planning to conduct a joint inspection on the quarry operations of another quarry company in the town of San Fernando, southern Cebu.

Governor Gwendolyn Garcia ordered the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) and the Provincial Engineers, together with Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-7, the Environment Management Bureau (EMB)-7 to conduct inspection on Taiheiyo Cement Philippines’ production and quarry operations in San Fernando.

Taiheiyo is a Japanese-based cement manufacturer company operating in San Fernando. The inspection seeks to know the extent of the quarry activities of the said company and if it follows the laws and regulations on responsible quarrying.

It also aims to know the potential impact of these activities to the nearby communities, since the cement plant is not that far from the residential areas in the said town.

Garcia ordered for the inspection following concerns raised during the meeting of the governor with Taiheiyo senior vice president and CFO, Taro Sumi, and San Fernando Mayor Mytha Ann Canoy on December 19, wherein the "accuracy of the company’s operational reports, particularly in relation to the volume of materials extracted from the quarry sites" was raised, as per report of Sugbo News, Capitol's news arm.

The result of the inspection is expected to give the officials the picture and data of the scope of the quarry activities and to set action to avoid any potential environmental hazards like landslides that could occur in the future. During the meeting, DENR-7 assistant regional director Charlie Fabre and EMB-7 legal officer Atty. Umalee Monares were also present.

Meanwhile, officials of ALQC signed an “Undertaking of Support” of the Capitol's direction for eco-friendly quarry-adhering environmental laws.

Atty. Perry Pe of Impact Assets Corp., the former majority shareholder of ALQC and Herbert Consunji representing Consunji Group that is now the majority shareholders of ALQC signed the undertaking at the Capitol with Governor Garcia present.

Under the said undertaking of support, ALQC is committed to support and ensure that its activities are within or in compliance with the environmental regulations aimed to protect not just the environment, but also communities living nearby its quarry sites.

Further, the company also assured that it has regular consultations with the provincial government, the City of Naga, local barangays within its MPSA areas, and other government agencies. The agreement was signed on December 16. — /ATO (FREEMAN)