CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The quarry operator was named in the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) report in December 2012 of endangering bridges along the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) by quarrying within the one- kilometer restricted area near bridges has refused to comment on the issue.
Engr. Reynaldo N. Manalansan, president of Tokwing Construction Corp., on Tuesday did not return text messages to his cellphone and refused to answer calls.
Liza Datu, Manalansan’s secretary, said yesterday morning that Manalansan just left the office for a business meeting. This, after Datu asked the nature of the interview over the telephone.
Reports of illegal quarrying from the MGB pointed to Tokwing as quarrying in the restricted area of the Gumain River.
Herman Sumadchat, president of Palakol Quarry and Development Corp. (PQDC), alleged that Tokwing is still engage in illegal quarrying in the area which is within the one-kilometer restricted area of the SCTEx bridges.
He also accused Tokwing of refusing to pay royalties amounting to P10 million despite operating within its area.
This is not the first time that Tokwing was identified as engaging in illegal quarrying activities. On October 3, 2011, the MGB gave Tokwing a “stern warning to refrain from further conducting quarrying operation within the present pin pointed extraction site (alleged permit area of one Homer Espinosa) since his permit already expired and the issue on actual location of the permitted area is not yet resolved.”
In the same report, Tokwing was also advised to secure the necessary permits for its crushing plant (D’ Prime Rock and D’ Cornerstone) prior to the resumption of its crushing operations.
It was recommended by the MGB that the provincial government of Pampanga “be advised not to issue DR/PTO (Delivery Receipt/ Provincial Treasurer’s Office) receipt to Tokwing” until such time its permits are in order.
This developed even as Engr. Art Punsalan, chief of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) categorically denied illegal quarrying in the Gumain River.
Punsalan said on Monday illegal quarrying was already stopped after a complaint from the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA).
