An aerial shoot of the landslide-affected area in Sitio Sindulan, Barangay Tinaan, Naga City. /CDN file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The trial court in Cebu City will resume hearing on Thursday, April 4, of the petition for the issuance of a temporary environmental protection order (Tepo) against the quarry operations of Apo Land and Quarry Corp. (ALQC) in Naga City, Cebu.
The petition for the issuance of the Tepo is part of the P4.5 billion class suit lodged by some of the victims of the fatal September 2018 landslide in Barangay Tinaan that claimed the lives of over 70 people.
The petitioners of the class suit, under the counsel of veteran environmental lawyer Benjamin Cabrido Jr., believed that the massive landslide was a product of the quarry operations in the mountains of Naga City.
Among the respondents of the case are ALQC, Apo Cement Corp., Cemex Philippines Inc., Mines and Geosciences Bureau in Central Visayas (MGB-7), Naga City government and Cebu provincial government.
Read More: Capitol to ask court to drop Cebu province as defendant in the Naga landslide case
ALQC was issued Mineral Product Sharing Agreement (MPSA) by the MGB-7 that covers over 3,000 hectares of mountain lands in Naga City and the neigboring cities of Carcar, Toledo and San Fernando town.
ALQCc is the main raw material supplier of Apo Cement Corp.
Winley dela Fuente, one of the complainants of the case, said it is vital that the Tepo be granted in order to protect what is left of their mountains.
“Mao manay main objective to stop quarries kay luoy na kaayo atong kalikopan pwerte nang gubaa. Wala gyod sila motagam sa wake up call sa nature, ila ra gyod kita ila gihuna huna,” dela Fuente said in a message to Cebu Daily News Digital.
(Our main objective here is to stop quarry operations that has been destroying our environment. They (ALQC) never learned from nature’s wake up call, they only think of their earnings.)
If a Tepo is granted during the trial on Thursday at Branch 23 of the Cebu City Regional Trial Court (RTC), the ALQC will have to cease operations during the whole duration of the court proceedings of the P4.5 billion class suit.
ALQC has ceased operations in Naga City pursuant to the order laid by Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu during his visit at the landslide area on September 21, 2018, the day after the landslide. /dcb