PORAC, Pampanga – Protesting against unjust taxes and random changes in policies and processes of the municipal government, 40 quarry operators and 850 haulers here shut down their quarry sites for two weeks starting Nov. 21.
“Gusto naming ipabatid sa mga Poraqueno na ang patuloiy na panggigipit ng munisipyo ay nagdudulot ng tuluyang pagbagsak ng insutriya ng buhangin sa Porac, sapagkat hinbdi na namin kayang ipagpatuloy ang aming kabuhayan sa ganitong sitwasyon,” read a statement of the Association of Porac Sand and Gravel Quarry Operators Inc. (APSGQO) posted in their social media page on Nov. 22.
Quarry operators estimate a gross income loss of P38.2 million from selling both pantambak (unprocessed filling materials) and screened sand, while haulers projected a gross income loss of P90 million over 15 days, according to APSGQO spokesperson Antonio Ayson in a news report.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 trucks haul sand from Porac daily except on Sundays, Ayson added, noting that the town contributes about 50% of the total provincial output of sand.
As mandated by the Local Government Code of 1991, the P150 sand fee per truck is distributed on a 40-30-30% sharing among the barangays, towns or cities and province, respectively, where quarry sites obtained.
The Pampanga provincial government already collects the sand fee of P150, an administrative fee of P250, and a weighing scale fee of P30, for a total of P430 per receipt paid by quarry operators and haulers directly at the provincial treasurer’s office. Only receipts are presented at the various checkpoints leading ouyt of the quarry sites.
Total quarry collections in Pampanga have reached some P4.5 billion from July 2019 to May 2025.
The shutdown of the quarry sites in Porac is seen as a major blow to what has long been dubbed as Pampanga’s “jewel in the sand.”
On a maximum of 3,500 receipts per day from Porac, Ayson said the provincial government could stand to lose some P39.13 million in revenues per month from the receipts alone if the operators and haulers halt their operation over the same period.
Engr. Romeo Dungca, chief of the provincial quarry regulatory unit, KALAM (Kapampangan a Lulugud at Matapat), said Gov. Lilia “Nanay” Pineda would be calling for a dialogue among the quarry operators, haulers, and the Porac LGU.
Calls made by Punto! to Porac Mayor Jaime “Jing” Capil have remained unreturned as of posting time. Punto News Team
