“The recent stoppage of one of the major quarries in Sitio Suntingon, Barangay Bugo, marks a significant victory for the community, demonstrating the power of determination and the unwavering pursuit of truth.”

CAGAYAN DE ORO — Stressing that this is a significant triumph in their crusade against quarrying, residents welcomed the recent local government order discontinuing a quarry operation in Sitio Suntingon, Barangay Bugo in Cagayan de Oro.

Residents claimed that quarry operations in Sitio Suntingon were the reasons for the severe flooding in their area.

“The recent stoppage [demonstrates] the power of determination and the unwavering pursuit of truth,” said Ruperto Gonzalo Buscato, a resident of Phase 1 Villa Trinitas Subdivision, Barangay Bugo.

Read: Cagayan de Oro residents push to end quarrying due to flooding

The City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office issued a stoppage order against a mountain quarry operation covering a total land area of 44,111 square meters. Managed by a certain Genard Abejo, the operation allegedly violated certain terms and conditions in his permit. Effective immediately, the order was issued in the last week of February.

Section 45 of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 states that a quarry permit may be cancelled for violations of the law or the terms and conditions of the permit after the conduct of an investigation.

The reported violations were the improper execution of the quarry’s benching scheme, which resulted in a steep high wall that did not comply to the approved mining procedure. There was also a hole found within the area which poses a potential risk of collapse. In addition, it was found out that the permit holder operated outside the approved quarry area.

Aside from the stoppage order, the quarry operator was also directed to rehabilitate the affected portion.

The infractions were discovered when CLENRO and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Northern Mindanao launched an inspection to quarry sites in Barangay Bugo in February, or a month after a City Council environment committee hearing was conducted where quarrying issues were discussed.

Buscato attended the meeting as a representative of the concerned residents but he received an “unsatisfactory response” from local officials. This prompted him to send complaints and queries to various government agencies, stressing that there were alleged irregularities in the issuance of quarry permits.

Despite CLENRO’s assertion that the measure was just a “regular inspection” and not a sort of response to a complaint, Buscato said that the residents’ appeal had potential influence in the discovery of the infringement.

He also questioned the consistency of authorities’ monitoring, asking why they have not detected the violations earlier. The resolution allowing Abejo to quarry was issued by the Barangay Bugo Council in 2019. The permit was supposed to expire in 2026.
“The fight is far from over,” Buscato said, as they called for the revocation of the permit for the remaining quarry in Sitio Suntingon and the swift approval of the proposed barangay ordinance prohibiting mountain and river quarries in their village. “We are not sitting down waiting for things to happen. We are continuously working to see that our goal will be manifested in reality.” (DAA)