Pampanga leaders bullish on quarrying fee collection

Pampanga leaders have expressed optimism that the province will improve its collection of lahar sand quarrying fees after Gov. Mark Lapid and members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan vowed to reconsider the proposal of the Natural Resources Development Corp. (NRDC).

"It’s really something to look forward to given the assurance of Gov. Lapid and the members of the provincial board," Pampanga third district Rey Aquino said after the second hearing of the House committee on natural resources on the quarrying issue last week.

The hearing was an offshoot of a resolution which Aquino filed with the House committee chaired by Rep. Leovigildo Banaag to look into the revenue-potential of lahar sand quarrying in Pampanga.

Vice Gov. Joseller Guiao described the commitment of Lapid and the provincial board members as "a victory for Pampanga."

"If they make good their promise, then we will see a tremendous turnaround in the province’s dismal income from its vast quarrying resources," Guiao said.

Last month, the provincial board voted down, 7-3, a resolution certified as urgent by Guiao in his capacity as acting governor that would allow the NRDC to take over lahar sand quarrying in the province.

Under the NRDC proposal, submitted by its chairman, retired Gen. Victor Corpus, the provincial government is guaranteed a minimum annual income of P36 million from lahar sand quarrying compared to its current average of P8 million.

In a position paper submitted during the hearing, the provincial board members said they were not against the NRDC proposal but only in the manner it was attempted to be approved in haste.

They said Lapid was out of the country when the board took up the resolution.

Banaag gave the provincial officials until March 16 to act on the NRDC proposal. "I hope you will act on the matter sooner than later," he said.

Banaag urged Aquino and his fellow Pampanga lawmakers, Juan Miguel Arroyo, Francis Nepomuceno and Anna York Bondoc, to exercise their oversight function on the quarrying issue.