A payloader blocks the passage of sand-loaded trucks owned by the Nueva Ecija provincial government. Photo by Armand M. Galang
PEÑARANDA, Nueva Ecija – After nearly two days of standoff, the municipal government and “concerned farmers” allowed the six trucks of the provincial government leave from Barangay Sinasajan here at about 8 p.m. Thursday.
But no one from both the provincial engineering office of Nueva Ecija and the local government of this town would speak on any agreement that led to their release.
“Nagkamayan sila,” an official said of the parties after several hours of talks.
The six white trucks loaded with sand from Penaranda River in Barangay Callos were barred Wednesday from leaving by “farmers whose lands were affected by legal or illegal quarrying” in the area, according to municipal administrator Benjamin Abes, Jr.
Abes said vegetable farmers have complained that trucks and a payloader owned by the province of Nueva Ecija were extracting and hauling sand since Monday, Dec. 7.
This prompted Mayor Joey Ramos to send municipal environment and natural resources officer Jaime Abesamis who asked haulers for authority to quarry in the area, Abes said Thursday.
However, their “foreman” instead promised that a representative from the provincial engineering office would talk to Ramos on Tuesday, Abes said.
No one arrived though.
“Kinabukasan (Wednesday), naulit yung naunang insidente. May mga dumating na truck, naghakot uli pero walang dumating na representante mula sa tanggapan ng panlalawigang engineering,” he added.
This was when the farmers blocked the trucks until provincial legal and engineering officials talked with municipal officials, Abes said.
When everyone calmed down, Abes said, the drivers were able to move the trucks to Barangay Sinasajan but the road barricade resumed with a loader and a vehicle owned by the LGU.
Policemen from the 1st provincial mobile force company and the town police station were sent to keep order during the standoff.
Provincial officials had said the hauling was covered by a gratuitous permit where extracted materials were set to be used in a government project.
Abes though maintained that per Municipal Ordinance 03-S2019, quarry operations are allowed only in their town if the materials will be used within its jurisdiction.
Abes said the municipal environment and natural resources office only wanted to know if the quarry operations were really authorized by the provincial government, saying that in some instances, government equipment were just used by some people in unauthorized activities.
