FEATURE

Digging the quarry issue:

Are flooding doom-sayers

really pro-environment?

As the rains poured over the watersheds of Cebu, social media came awash with videos and photos of the gory details of flooding and the clogging issue that denizens become experts about.

Denizens did not become experts because they burn midnight candles to learn about environmental science, but because it is much easier to assign the blame than be part of it.

And the ripples of the flooding washed to the social media scouts in Bohol, adopting the fear of what irresponsible vloggers implicated that quarries in Bohol are equal to the mining activities in Cebu.

Cebu’s flooding situation is NOT comparable to Bohol, stresses Provincial Legal Officer Handel Lagunay.

Cebu’s hills and mountains have been heavily scraped due to large-scale development. Bohol does NOT have this situation — our quarrying is small-scale and tightly regulated, he added, if only to put the fear in the fitting context.

While Boholanos profess to watch over the environment and heritage when they sing the Bohol Hymn, which details the aspiration for environmental sustainability and heritage conservation, many also argue they deserve to have a say in the use of non-metallic local resources: sand, gravel, limestone, boulders or rock aggregates for home and local infrastructure construction, according to the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 (or Republic Act 7942)

Apparently, for some self-confessed hard-core environmentalists, this is still a no.

Stopping all quarry operations would harm the public. All aggregates would have to be imported from outside Bohol. Construction costs for roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, and flood-control structures would skyrocket. Thousands of workers and haulers would lose livelihood. Infrastructure development would slow or stop, Atty Lagunay elucidates.

Quarry areas in Bohol are extremely small as small-scale quarrying is allowed under national law and assign its regulation to the Provincial Government, the Bohol Provincial Environment and Management Office (BPEMO) records show.

There are around 40 legal quarry sites, far apart and in different locations on private or public lands, each not more than 5 hectares, BPEMO records show.

With Bohol land area comprising of 411,728 hectares, even if the legal quarry sites have a combined area of 250 hectares, that is some 0.0006% of Bohol.

According to the Mining Act, small quarries to serve local construction, secure local permits from provincial or municipal governments which regulates them, unlike large-scale quarrying, which involves bigger areas, heavier equipment, large production volumes, and is regulated at the national level by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Mines and GeoSciences Bureau.

Key to the operation of small quarry is a permit which the quarry owner secures.

To obtain the permit, quarry operator identifies the area (≤ 5ha), secures landowner consent, applies for the Provincial City Government permit, submits technical requirements, undergoes evaluation and site inspection, secures Environmental Compliance Certificates (ECC) or Certificate of Non Coverage (CNC), and sends this to the Bohol Mineral Resources and Regulations Office (BMinRRO) for approval.

If the quarry is in a hilly area, it should not be more than 15 meters high, farm from observed houses, and a provision of a run-off water catchment is mandated, according to BMinRRO.

Quarry owner or permittee pays fees and posts bond to get a permit issued valid for 5 years, renewable until 25 years.

In Bohol, a permit is issued only after a technical and environmental review. Before a quarry permit is granted: the Technical Working Group (TWG) conducts site inspection and environmental assessment. Then, the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) reviews and recommends approval. The operator must secure an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) and LGU business permit No ECC, or there is no operation.

And then, like most denizens accuse: government regulatory bodies do not care to look at operations when permits are released, Bohol keeps a system.

Monitoring is strict and continuous, assure BPEMO head Jovencia Ganub.

A provincial Ordinance sets up the Bohol Environmental Protection Task Force (BEPTF) who conducts constant inspections.

Barangays, which used to turn a blind eye on quarry operations now realized they have a share in the quarry revenues now closely guard against illegal quarrying.

Recently, Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado handed to Cambagui Sevilla chairman Luz Dano some P240,000, as the share of the barangay in the quarry revenues from October to December of 2024. The P80K a month becomes a new development fund source for the LGU.

Quarry revenue directly supports communities. Quarry fees are a major revenue stream for the Provincial Government, and these are shared with municipalities and barangays where quarries are located, Atty Lagunay pointed out.

In recent years, a significant rise in revenues proved that collections now are transparent, funds go to government and not private pockets and local communities benefit from these legal operations, he added.

Self confessed pro environmentalists would have none of this, in fact, based on their positions, a stance for absolute quarry ban appears to be their hard line.

Absolute quarry operations mean Bohol would source out all aggregates from outside Bohol, raise construction costs for roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, and flood-control structures, even private residential buildings.

Economically, this would cripple the economy as thousands of workers lose livelihood and infrastructure development would stop.

Which can be good for the environment. That would be good for political critics.

But would that be any good for Bohol? (RAHC/PIA-7/Bohol)

CAMBAGUI QUARRY. An aerial view of a small quarry site without any aother information other than in Cambagui, Sevilla was posted on FB by NatoTrip. This became viral as uninformed denizens immediately point to the environmental degradation, fearing floods. This legal small scale quarry however keeps its run-off water in the area, making the accusations of it flooding other areas, baseless. (PIABohol/NATOTRIP)