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| Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee R. Marcos |
Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff Reporter
Laoag
City—To intensify the monitoring of illegal
quarry operations, the Ilocos Norte government has created a provincial quarry
council and appointed a new chairman to lead the council.
Executive Order No. 238-14
signed by Ilocos Norte Governor Ma. Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos on June 20 states
that the new council is now headed by Atty. Erme Labayog, provincial legal
officer along with mining engineer Teofilo Mazon Jr. as vice chairman.
Other members of the PQC
include: provincial treasurer Josephine Calajate, provincial environment and
natural resources officer Juan delos Reyes Jr., Atty. Eric Cua, as
representative of the governor, Paulo Juan Enrico Valenciano, head of the
inspection team and Federated ABC president Charles Tadena.
On January 29, 2008, a quarry
task force was created but with the recent developments about the controversial
quarry industry, the governor has thought of institutionalizing measures to
strengthen the regulation of quarry operations and simplify the procedures
governing the issuance of quarry permits.
According to Ms. Marcos, “An
upsurge in provincial construction has created a high demand for sand, gravel
and other quarry resources accompanied however by numerous reports of illegal
quarry operations necessitate the strengthening of the regulation of quarry
operations.”
Also, there had been reports
that both small and extensive quarry operations continue to utilize harmful and
substandard methods that threaten the environment and health of the surrounding
communities, requiring the province to upgrade the technology of extraction and
disposition of quarry materials.
To ensure that revenues and
other benefits derived from quarry operations should redound not only to the
quarry permit holders and operators but more importantly to the local
government units and other stakeholders, especially the marginalized and
indigenous peoples, Ms. Marcos created the new council backed by a secretariat
and inspection team to include previous members of the previous quarry task
force, including the Philippine National Police, Department of Environment and
Natural Resources and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.
Specifically, the PQC shall
have the following powers and functions: to prescribe form, to accept and
evaluate applications for permits including new and extension period of
validity permit, approve and grant application permits, deployment of personnel
to quarry sites for compliance of quarry laws, investigate complaints and
impose sanctions for violations of quarry laws, orders and ordinances.
As a major local revenue
source of the province, quarry fees and charges have a share of 30 percent for
both the provincial and municipal government while the host barangay has at
least 40 percent share.
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