Lapid in legal tussle with Malacañang anew

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — Gov. Lito Lapid is again embroiled in a legal battle with Malacañang over control of the lucrative lahar sand quarrying in the province.

Lapid has ignored President Arroyo’s directive for the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to take over the management of quarrying operations, including the collection of fees.

Lapid has petitioned the local court for a preliminary injunction against the MGB’s takeover of quarrying operations that earned the provincial government some P25 million last year.

"The President has no authority to amend, repeal or modify substantive provisions of the Local Government Code on the authority of local governments to impose levies on quarrying operations (covering five hectares or less)," said provincial administrator Benalfre Galang.

He said the provincial government continues to collect quarrying fees from thousands of trucks that haul lahar sand from this province, each truck paying P300 per haul.

"If the MGB insists on assuming control of the quarrying, we will be compelled to ask the court to issue a temporary restraining order," he said.

Controversies over the control of lahar sand quarrying here mounted during the term of former President Joseph Estrada, who pursued charges of alleged anomalies against Lapid, after he (Estrada) gave the government-owned Natural Resources Development Corp. (NRDC) control of local quarrying.

As a result of the charges, including alleged padding of quarrying fees, the Office of the Ombudsman twice suspended Lapid. The governor’s administrative cases with the Ombudsman were later dismissed, although one criminal case is still pending.

Early this month, the President issued Executive Order 224 depriving the provincial governments of Pampanga and Tarlac of the authority to impose and collect quarrying fees and transferring this to the MGB.

The MGB was directed to form a task force that will directly supervise quarrying in the two provinces.

Despite its petition for preliminary injunction, Galang said the provincial government is still hoping that its conflict with Malacañang could be settled out of court.