Atienza wants quarry moratorium strictly enforced in Sariaya, Quezon

12/07/2009

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza yesterday directed the Department’s Environmental Law Enforcement Task Force led by Gen. Pedro Bulaong to ensure that the moratorium on quarry operations imposed in the town of Sariaya in Quezon province is strictly enforced.

“I have already directed Gen. Bulaong of our Environmental Law Enforcement Task Force to step in, and to ensure that the moratorium we have imposed on quarry operations in Sariaya is effectively being carried out,” Atienza said.

In Memorandum Order 2009-06, Atienza imposed a moratorium on all mining/quarry/crushing operations in Sariaya to “provide adequate protection to the environment, address complaints and concerns on impacts and threats and set in place mitigating measures in connection with the mining/quarry/crushing operations in Sariaya.”

The moratorium also covers the acceptance of all new applications and approval of all pending applications for permits for mining/quarry/crushing operations in the said municipality.

According to Atienza, the moratorium will continue to be enforced until such time that the assessment of the quarry operations and their environmental impacts have been completed.

Under the memorandum, Atienza also ordered the creation of two teams to help in implementing the moratorium. The assessment team, composed of personnel from the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau and Environmental Management Bureau, will undertake the inventory and assessment of existing quarry operations in the municipality and to investigate complaints pertaining to violations of mining and environmental laws.

The multi-partite monitoring team, meanwhile, is tasked to monitor the implementation of the moratorium. The team is headed by Quezon Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Vicente Cabrera, with representatives from the Quezon provincial government, Sariaya municipal government and non-government organizations, Tanggol Kalikasan and Alay Kapwa.

Under Republic Act 7942 or the Philippine Mining Act, quarry permits are issued by provincial governors. The maximum area which a qualified person may be hold at any one time shall be five hectares.

Atienza, however, clarified that the imposition of the moratorium is not meant to stop businesses in the area or question the authority of local governments but to ensure that environmental protection is accorded top priority in all business and development projects and activities in the country in the face of climate change.

“We could no longer ignore the fact that we are now facing the greatest environmental challenge of all time and that is, climate change. We need to strike a balance between our economic progress and environmental protection to avert environmental catastrophes in the future,” he said.

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