LAOAG CITY — Quarry operators with approved permits from the Ilocos Norte government are exempted from the regionwide suspension of all quarrying and industrial sand and gravel operations, provided they adhere to the province’s comprehensive quarry ordinance passed recently.
This was approved by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Provincial Quarry Council (PQC), led by its chair, lawyer Erme Labayog, told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Wednesday.
Following a recent landslide near a quarry site in Naga City, Cebu, which claimed at least 29 people, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu had suspended the quarry operations in eight regions nationwide, pending their safety assessment.
PQC, however, appealed to the environment department, through Mines and Geosciences Bureau Regional Director Carlos A. Tayag, to exempt Ilocos Norte, considering that the rivers here are heavily silted.
“If quarry suspension is imposed, it may hinder the flow of water come rainy season. It will pose a greater risk than what we are trying to avoid,” Labayog said in his letter to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) dated Sept. 27.
Labayog added that the province is in need of more aggregates for the immediate repair of infrastructure, roads, and other facilities damaged by Typhoon Ompong, including the continuous construction under the “Build, Build, Build” program of the national government.
The PQC said there are now 40 permittees of commercial sand and gravel in the province, plus 20 more due for release anytime soon.
The council assured the province is strictly observing the implementation of various safety nets to protect the environment and the welfare of the people.
Apart from the passage of a comprehensive quarry ordinance, Ilocos Norte also banned the operation of black sand mining. (Leilanie Adriano/PNA)
