Quarrying site for dolomite rocks in Alcoy town, southern Cebu | Photo courtesy of MGB – 7
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The League of Municipalities of the Philippines- Cebu Chapter has manifested its support on the stand of the Cebu provincial government against “unsustainable” domestic sale and transport of dolomites and other quarry resources.
All the 44-mayor members of LMP Cebu, including Mayor Michael Angelo Sestoso of the municipality of Alcoy, where the dolomites that were used to fill the stretch of Manila Bay were sourced, signed the resolution.
In a news release of the Cebu Provincial Information Office, LMP-Cebu said the dolomite extraction in Alcoy, if left without examination of its environmental impact and consequential damage, will cause damage to the environment of Cebu Island. This will “violate the constitutionally protected right of the Cebuanos and resulting in irreparable and unquantifiable harm to them.”
The dolomite extraction in Alcoy gained national attention after crushed dolomites from the town were brought to Manila for the “white makeover” of Manila Bay.
Governor Gwendolyn Garcia earlier issued an executive order directing the mining firm and mineral processing company in Alcoy to cease and desist the extraction, sale, and transport of the minerals.
The governor. however, clarified that her CDO only covered the unpermitted domestic sale and transport of the dolomites as a substitute for sand and gravel which is outside of the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) of the firms with the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).
READ: Garcia: CDO covers only transport, selling of dolomite in local market
Provincial Treasurer Roy Salubre said the Capitol had been demanding the processing firm in Alcoy to obtain a waste disposal permit since August 2019 but to no avail.
Without obtaining a waste disposal permit, Garcia said the processing firm had not remitted the supposed share of the proceeds from the dolomites sold in the local market as a substitute to sand and gravel to the host barangay and municipality.
Aside from the claims of shares from the proceeds of the dolomites sold in the local market, the Capitol officials also said they were concerned about the environmental impact of the extraction of the dolomites outside what was specified in their MPSAs. / dcb