Cebu City dad urges CCENRO to stop Agsungot quarry by Friday

The quarry site in Barangay Pardo in Cebu City was done during the community quarantine. | Photo courtesy of Councilor Joel Garganera

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera, the City Council’s chairperson for the committee on environment, urged the Cebu City Environment Office (CCENRO) to issue a cease and desist order for the quarry in Barangay Agsungot by Friday, September 11, 2020.

Garganera said that the quarry in Agsungot must be ordered to stop immediately, especially since this may have caused two landslides in the area on August 2020, leading to the blocking of one of the barangay’s major roads.

Read: Rock wall in Brgy Agsungot, Cebu City collapses due to rain

“We need to stop that quarry immediately because it has already caused damage in the area. We have also sent a letter to the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) to investigate the matter,” said Garganera.

A similar case has been reported in Barangay Pardo as well, with the operator failing to provide permits to allow them to quarry the area. But this has  already been ordered stopped after the barangay complained about their presence.

Both quarry sites began unnoticed on March 2020, when the city was placed under lockdown due to the threats of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Read: Mayor Labella orders probe on Agsungot quarry

The councilor said the quarry sites were being operated by the same contractor, although in Barangay Agsungot, local officials claimed that they had permits. They could not produce these documents though.

Still, before the DENR can step in to do its own investigation, the CCENRO must be the first to issue a cease and desist order to stop operations until the national agency can conduct its probe.

The two landslides are proof that the quarry has significantly affected the area, and thus must be prevented from further damaging the place.

“This is really in the hands of the Environment Management Bureau (EMB) and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) because of the grave environmental impact,” said Garganera.

The MGB has already inspected the site after the two landslides occurred and even suggested that the city create a diversion road in place of the road blocked due rock debris.

Read: MGB-7 tells Cebu City to widen of road in Agsungot following mini landslide

It can be noted that Councilor Jerry Guardo has already asked Mayor Edgardo Labella to prioritize this diversion road for the safety of the Agsungot residents.

If the CCENRO cannot produce the cease and desist order by Friday, Garganera said he will ask help from the DENR and the police to order the stop of the quarry in the area.

“Aside from not being able to produce the papers to justify their operations, they also need a permit to operate under the community quarantine in line with the public health emergency in the country. We at the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) do not know of such operations permitted,” he said.

Garganera also heads the EOC in Cebu City, which is the primary implementor for the fight against the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the city.

The councilor hopes CCENRO will pick up pace in putting a stop to this suspected illegal quarry operations.

CDN Digital has tried to reach Engineer Editha Peros, the head of the CCENRO, but she has not replied to queries as of this posting. /bmjo