Claimant of Boljoon landmark shows sales receipts to prove alleged quarry transaction
PROOF OF SALE. Dr. Teofilo Silagan shows machine copies of receipts that allegedly prove that QM Builders sold limestone quarried from Ili Rock for as low as P300.
(CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
A retired colonel who claimed his family owns a vast swath of property in sitio Talisay, Poblacion including the famous Ili Rock in Boljoon town showed receipts that the quarried limestones were being sold from P300 to P1,500 per truck depending on the size.
Teofilo Silagan, a retired military dentist, went to Cebu Daily News yesterday and showed a copy of the tax declaration of a 4.6 hectare piece of land which includes the Ili Rock.
He also showed sales receipts from QM Builders. Nine of the receipts were issued to a certain Jaime Fiel last Oct. 7. The other receipt had no name.
Each receipt shows a sale of P300 for 3 cubic meters of limestone.
Silagan said the limestones being sold to ‘Jamie Feil’ came from Ili Rock. He said he is a relative of the municipal treasurer Yolanda Fiel and works at the town’s engineering department.
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) contractor, QM Builders’ project supervisor Arnulfo Zamboangnon denied this saying the excavated limestone has never been transported outside of Boljoon town nor outside barangay Poblacion unless ordered by DPWH and the municipal government.
Receipt numbers 1206, 1201, 1207, 1166, 1203, 1205, 1204, 1202, 1208 did not show the address of the buyer. It was signed by a certain Mildred Medrano.
He said he doesn’t know why there was a receipt issued as they have never sold the excavated limestones for the slope benching project of the Ili Rock.
“Wala ko’y idea nganong na in-ana man na nga naay resibo. Amo raman na gi stockpile daplin sa dalan sa Poblacion tanan namong nakuha gikan sa Ili, makita raman na dinha. Unless naay landslide sa lain lugar unya ingnon mi sa DPWH na gamiton nila or ang munisipyo muingon naa ra na dinha,” Zamboangnon told Cebu Daily News.
(I don’t have any idea why there are receipts. We stockpiled the limestones from Ili Rock along the road of Poblacion and everyone can see that. Unless there is a landslide in other areas and DPWH or the town officials asked us to transport, it is just there).
Since they started the P45.26 million slope benching project in August, Zamboangnan said they have only excavated around 1,000 cubic meters of limestone.
The limestones are supposed to be dumped on the white sand shoreline of sitio Talisay in Boljoon town for DPWH’s 43.9 reclamation project for “shore protection”.
The filling materials for the reclamation project are of “no cost” to DPWH based on the project plan.
The contractor said they only started dumping limestone to the shore around November.
Asked where they dumped the limestone after the exvacation, Zamboangnan said everything is just stockpiled along the road of barangay Poblacion.
Zamboangnon said he is not aware if there is indeed sales from the limestones as he only visit the site once a week at the most and rely on their heavy equipment operators. There are seven locally-hired workers.
Silagan went to the Office of the Ombudsman last Nov. 4 and filed a complaint against district engineer James Dellosa.
“May I respectfully request for assistance in connection with my complaint against District engineer Dellosa, QM Builders for illegal extraction of limestone and illegal cutting of trees on my lot without my permission and selling the limestone (in trucks) since August 2014 until present,” Silagan’s complaint reads.
Silagan said Dellosa and DPWH Cebu 4th district chief planning officer and project engineer Marlon Marollano went to his house in Pardo, Cebu City prior to the project and verbally promised to compensate him of P30,000 for the property that will be affected by the project.
“Dellosa said that budget for this project includes the compensation for the lot. But the amount is too cheap, it’s like I am just giving it away,” Silagan said.
His family owns that parcel of land which is classified as agricultural. He however clarified that he never agreed for that project and he did not sign anything.
“I have to clarify because the people in Boljoon are angry at me for allowing DPWH to do that to our property which serves as a heritage site and a landmark of the town. It was done without my permission,” Silagan told Cebu Daily News.
Last Sept. 23, Silagan wrote a letter to DPWH Regional Director Ador Canlas demanding that P10 million be paid to them for using their property.
But he said he is not thinking of filing a case. He just want to meet with the engineer at the Ombudsman and ask him why they did that project without his permission. And since he learned that the limestones are being sold, he said he would just have to ask for a percentage of the sales.
There was no accreditation as trader or retailer of minerals issued to QM Builders by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of DENR. The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office has not also issued a waste disposal permit to the same contractor.
Zamboangnon said that they are not supposed to get those permits as it should be the DPWH who should have prepared everything.
“After we were given the notice to proceed by DPWH, we believe that all documents are already in order,” Zamboangnon said.
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