CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Capitol has sent out three teams from the Provincial Engineering Office (PEO) and the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (Penro) to inspect the quarry sites around the province.
The PEO-led inspectors will determine if the quarry sites have encroached beyond the coordinates indicated in their quarry permits issued by the Penro.
Inspection teams were earlier sent out to take aerial photos of the quarry sites in the province.
Based on those photos, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said they saw many quarry sites that operated beyond what was indicated in their permits.
Garcia met with the quarry permittees of the province last August 30, 2019, and she instructed them to define the boundaries of their quarry sites.
Read: Operators may need to rehabilitate quarry sites before ban will be lifted
“When we get the report, we will call them again and we will tell them nga ni-overquarry gyud ka kung tinuoray gyud. Kay i-verify man tong boundary markers kung sakto pod ilang mga gipamutang,” said Garcia.
(When we get the report, we will call them and point out if they indeed overquarried. The teams will also verify if the boundary markers that they put up are accurate.)
The inspectors will determine the actual volume of minerals extracted in the quarry site and compare them with what was declared and paid for in the provincial treasury.
Read more: Gwen calls on mayors, police to help crackdown illegal quarry operations
“If there is such a huge discrepancy (between the actual extraction and what was declared), it would only mean one thing: gi-recycle ang delivery receipts and the provincial government was not getting its rightful due,” Garcia said.
Garcia said penalties will be set out if the inspection teams will really find violations in the operations of the quarry sites.
The governor earlier issued an executive order suspending all quarry permits issued by Penro pending review of the permits and their operations.
Read: Gwen orders halt on all small-scale quarry operations in Cebu
When the quarry ban will be lifted, Garcia also said the province will look into increasing their extraction charges.
The Capitol presently collects P20 as extraction charge for every cubic meter of quarry materials extracted by their permitees. The rate has been stagnant since 2008. /bmjo