South Cotabato quarry workers face dislocation

SOUTH COTABATO, Philippines – Quarry workers in this province face dislocation with the provincial environment code.

“The lack of distinction between quarrying and open-pit method in the code can cover all surface mining operations, and may stop all legitimate quarry operations in the province,” said Gemma Absalon and seven other quarry operators in South Cotabato.

This, as the group formally filed a petition before the South Cotabato Sangguniang Panglalawigan calling for a review of the Environment Code which took affect last Oct. 18, or 15 days after its third publication on a provincial newspaper.

The petition, addressed to South Cotabato Vice Gov. Elmo Tolosa, called for a “more objective, technical and scientific basis for singling out open pit method over other method of accessing minerals and other materials from the ground.”

Quarry operators in the province are particularly apprehensive over Section 22b of the code, which bans the open-pit mining method.

In the code’s definition of terms, open-pit mining refers to a method of extracting rocks or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or burrow.

“The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in fact defines quarrying as an open-pit method of extracting rocks,” the group argued.

Josephine Bonilla, a quarry operator from Koronadal City, said they were not consulted during the formulation and enactment of the code, as she urged the provincial body to conduct an immediate review.

Bonilla said hundreds of families would lose their livelihood and means to earn if the provincial government enforces the specific prohibition on open-pit method.

The provincial government also stands to lose millions of pesos in revenue, Bonilla said.

A review is in order, she said, because the provincial board has to immediately address the conflict between the code and the survival of an industry vital to South Cotabato.

“Look around, even the provincial government has ongoing construction projects. What will happen if quarrying is stopped?” Bonilla asked.