Luna, Apayao - To fully implement the Prescribing Guidelines on the delivery of sand and gravel aggregates in the province and outside the province, Apayao -Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) held a meeting with Commercial Sand and Gravel (CSAG) and Industrial Sand and Gravel (ISAG) permit holders as well as with other stakeholders involved.
The meeting was attended by the technical working group, permit holders group called the Commercial Sand and Gravel (CSAG) and Industrial Sand and Gravel (ISAG) groups, PNP, DENR, Green Guards and others. Said assembly was held today December 12 at the Apayao Eco-Tourism Complex, San Gregorio, Luna.
The extracting and selling of sand and aggregates has some issues that needed to be corrected and such is to be achieved by a concerted effort.
During the meeting some of the issues were raised and addressed through the finalization of a resolution and agreement on implementation of guidelines to be followed by businesses, agencies, institutions and individuals involved.
Said guidelines are in line with the mandate of PMRB under Resolution No. 5 series of 2021.
PGO-ENR Consultant Atty. Romeo G. Bravo in his speech emphasized the necessity of avoiding abuse for more profit, explaining that responsible quarrying can be advantageous but irresponsible one can have devastating effects to the lives of the people and the environment.
Meanwhile, the Consultant of PGO-Public Information Office Brent Martinez, in his talk, reminded the stakeholders stressing the essence of equitable sharing on sand and gravel resources for the present and future generations since these resources are limited.
Martinez exemplified the cases of other areas which sold their resources to others in the past and are now importing for those very same resources, “as we build, we need gravel and sand but these resources are finite. If we do not know how to control and regulate, others will benefit from our resources and we end up buying from others later.”
At present the CSAG and ISAG permit holders are oriented of the guidelines and vowed to help in the implementation by following the regulations stated.
Chairman of the TWG-PMRB Atty. Edmar D. Pascua encouraged the CSAG permit holders to obey the rules and regulations, especially in management of dump truck deliveries and fees as well as the protection of the Apayao River by extracting sand and gravel only at designated areas.
With this, it is expected that accidents related to sand and gravel deliveries will be minimized, environment will be protected, delivering sand and gravel outside Apayao is regulated, and a win-win situation on the side of the provincial government, business owners, and indirect beneficiaries of the sand and gravel industry will be achieved.
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