Local officials support calls to totally ban mining, quarrying

NAGA AIREAL PHOTO IN GROUND ZERO/OCT.03,2018:Aireal photo of the landslide area in sitio Sindulan Barangay Tinaan Naga City were houses affected mark with to determine that they cannot come back photo taken from Airforce helicopter.(CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)

If Congress heads the call of President Rodrigo Duterte to repeal the Philippine Mining Act and end all mining operations, Naga City will have no choice but follow and forgo the opportunities and benefits the quarry industry brings to the city.

Naga City Mayor Kristine Chiong said they will do only what is best for the people.

“Being a local government unit (LGU), we will adapt to whatever situation we are in. As much as we want industries to come in because that would translate to more projects, we will only do what is best for Naga,” said Chiong.

Mr. Duterte has called for a total ban in mining operations in the country, saying it only accounts to about P70 billion to the country’s revenue.

In Naga City, the six quarry operations contributed P12,323,856.58 to the city’s over P400 million local income for 2017, or about three percent.

Meanwhile, Cebu City Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia backed the President’s call for Congress to pass a law stopping all mining operations in the country.

“Actually, I haven’t read it. But we will support that, and after what we have seen in Naga City where there are over 7,000 individuals displaced or over 1,000 families who lost their homes,” said Garcia.

The councilor said that the country should strengthen its enforcement of laws pertaining to mining, and the environment.

He said that in Cebu City’s case, authorities apparently are “very lax” in enforcing laws aimed at regulating mining operations in the mountain barangays, especially quarrying.

This prompted him to file a resolution creating a Special Task Force Group in Cebu City to enforce these laws. He said the group will be inspecting the mountain barangays for any possible illegal quarrying activities, and review site development permits granted there.

“We have laws but the enforcement is very lax. So, maybe that’s one of the areas we have to look into. It’s not only the quarrying but also the individuals who applied for site development permits for the creation of subdivisions,” Garcia said.

“In creating subdivisions, you have to do quarrying. That’s what’s happening. Essentially they are not paying the city for quarrying but for constructing houses. But later on, after quarrying, they do not build houses anymore. They just sell whatever they quarried,” he added.

Last Tuesday, the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO) said that they sought the help of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau in Central Visayas (MGB – 7) to inspect the mountain barangays for any illegal quarrying activities.