EL NIÑO. The scorching heat of the sun does not deter Raul Cañeda from carrying a sack of sand from his 12-foot deep quarry. With Mananga River drying up due to the El Niño phenomenon, Raul and other residents are able to dig deeper and extract more sand and gravel. (CDN PHOTO/FERDINAND EDRALIN)
As early as 6 a.m. every day, Raul Cañeda readies his shovel and walks toward Mananga River in Talisay City to extract sand and gravel.
Raul and his 55-year-old mother Estrella, both residents of Barangay Lawaan, have been selling sand and gravel for five years now.
With the river all dried up because of the El Niño phenomenon, Raul said they are able to extract more.
“We can extract more when there’s no water. Before, we could hardly extract because of the waist-level water,” Raul told Cebu Daily News.
He said they used to be able to dig only up to three feet. But yesterday, they were able to dig as deep as 12 feet. They placed a net over the 12-foot hole they made to separate sand from the stones.
Raul and his mother sell sand and gravel for P40 per sack. Asked who their buyers are, Estrella answered, “Basta taga diri (residents here).”
The bone-dry river has turned into a road, which private vehicles use.
It’s also the newest playground for kids, like 10-year-old Bryan Varellano who was flying his kite when CDN visited the site yesterday. Other children were running around.
When water still flowed, Bryan said he could not cross the river because the water was chest-deep.
Some cows could also be seen eating grass in the area, which was littered with plastic wrappers and other trash.
PROBE
The quarrying activities at the river has caught the attention of the Cebu Provincial Environment and Natural Resources (Penro), which launched an investigation last Monday.
Federico Carreon, Penro head, said a complaint was sent to the office of Environment Secretary Ramon Paje last week. He could not give the name of the complainant, saying he didn’t have the copy of the complaint with him.
He declined to divulge other details pending the result of their investigation.
“We are waiting for the official results of the investigation which might be finished within the week,” Carreon said in a phone interview.
Mananga River is part of the 28,312-hectare Mananga Watershed Forest Reserve, which is included in the Central Cebu Protected Landscape (CCPL) as declared under Republic Act No. 9486.
Residents are able to extract more sand and gravel from the Mananga River, which has dried up because of the El Niño phenomenon. (CDN PHOTO/FERDINAND EDRALIN)
The protected area also includes Buhisan watershed forest reserve, Sudlon National Park, Central Cebu National Park and the Cotcot-Lusaran Watershed Forest Reserve.
Aside from Mananga River, Carreon said their investigation covers another river system in the town of Minglanilla.
“Quarrying must have permits. For small-scale (below five hectares) commercial and manual extractions, a permit shall be secured from the local government unit,” he said.
For large-scale quarrying (more than five hectares), a permit must be secured from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.
Quarrying refers to the process of extracting, removing, and disposing quarry resources, as defined by law, found on the underneath the surface of private and public land.
WATER SUPPLY
Mananga River supplies the Jaclupan weir, or small dam, of the Metro Cebu Water District, which supplies water to consumers from Talisay City to Barangay Carreta, Cebu City.
Charmaine Kara, MCWD public affairs manager, earlier said Mananga has not been supplying their Jaclupan facility.
But MCWD has been using reserve water and bulk water supply from private suppliers to ensure that the taps won’t run dry.
Couple Rubelyn and Wilson Laspona, who lives near Mananga in Sitio Riverside, Barangay Lawaan, Talisay City said they still have adequate water supply.
“So far, the effects of the El Niño here in our place is the reduced water of the Mananga River,” Wilson said.