A photo of the landslide area was furnished to CDN Digital by the Pusyon Kinaiyahan. | contributed photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines—Apparent developments at ground zero of the landslide area in Barangay Tinaan, Naga City have prompted speculations that Apo Land and Quarry Corp. (ALQC) has resumed its operations despite the absence of a green light from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Pusyon Kinaiyahan, an environmental advocate group that actively calls for the stoppage of quarrying operations following the deadly landslide in September 2018, furnished Cebu Daily News Digital photos of developments at the ground zero.
In a statement, the group alleged that ALQC has resumed its quarry operations in Naga City “taking advantage of the remnants of the tragic landslide.”
Read: 29 bodies dug up at landslide site below limestone quarry
“We call on our National Government, Provincial government and DENR to stop [ALQC] from doing their quarry operations and possibly cordon the area as ‘property of the people and the state,'” the statement reads.
ALQC has been ordered to stop operating by Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu a day after the landslide or on September 21, 2019, due to the risks of the instability of the area.
But Chito Maniago, the communications director of Cemex Philippines Inc., the mother company of ALQC, refuted the allegations through a phone interview with CDN Digital.
According to Maniago, the said developments captured in photographs were part of the implementation of the hazard reduction plan (HRP) for ground zero which was approved by the DENR and the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD).
Read: NAGA LANDSLIDE: Cries for justice ring out at victims’ burial
“Based on the pictures, I am confirming that those developments are indeed part of the HRP. Kung titingnan natin, we have made a significant progress in reducing the instability of the area,” Maniago told CDN Digital.
ALQC, which was tasked by the DENR to come up and implement the HRP, has allocated around P150 million for the three phases of the program.
ALQC kicked off the over P40-million first phase of the HRP last November 29, 2018.
The first phase included the construction of the P20 Sindulan safety wall which serves as a protective barrier of the community from the remains of the landslide.
Read: Killer landslide in Naga ‘unique’ – MGB
Aside from the wall, ALQC was tasked to develop a P4.7 million drainage system from Sitio Tagaytay to Sitio Sindulan to prevent continued erosion of the soil on rainy season.
The company will also implement the clearing of the loose soil in ground zero and the P21-million rehabilitation plan of the Pangdan River, which was blocked by soil from the landslide.
Maniago also reiterated that the loose soil hauled from the landslide area and the vicinity of Pangdan River has only been transferred to stabilize the said areas but were not used as raw materials in their cement production. /bmjo