QUARRYING IN the highlands kills – the mountains get denuded, the soil loosened, landslides become all too common occurrences. Itogon, Benguet and Naga City, Cebu just the latest tragedies attesting to this.
Quarrying in Pampanga saves – it desilts the rivers of Mount Pinatubo’s lahar deposits thereby helping minimize floodings.
To lump quarrying in Pampanga with that of the mountain areas – as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources did in the aftermath of the landslides caused by Typhoon Ompong – is therefore unthinking, to say the least.
To put a stop to quarrying in Itogon, Naga and all other highlands, like Rizal province is the rightful call of the hour.
To ban quarrying in Pampanga as well is totally uncalled for.
Pampanga sand, specifically Porac’s, is premium in the construction industry – indeed a sine qua non in the erection of the skyscrapers of Metro Manila, of bridges and highways all over Luzon, if not in the whole Philippines.
The impact of a suspension in Pampanga quarrying on the Build, Build, Build flagship program of the Duterte government is beyond an engineer’s worst nightmare.
Without sand what is there to build, dummy?
Gov. Lilia G. Pineda herself – at her diplomatic and motherly best, of course – imparted this to Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu who has since rescinded his suspension order on quarrying in Pampanga and some other areas deemed less-lethal to their adjacent communities.
The governor has expressed the gratitude of the province to the secretary.
And Pampanga continues to enjoy its P1-million a day windfall from Pinatubo’s vomit.
All’s well.
