THE Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 7 has called the attention of seven firms developing sites in Cebu Province for what the MGB described as illegal quarries.
Loreto Alburo, MGB 7 director, told reporters that the bureau already ordered these quarrying operations to stop earlier this month.
Alburo declined to identify the seven firms as they are currently under investigation.
In a press conference, Alburo said that the MGB ordered the seven firms to stop what they were doing after the bureau found out that these had failed to secure quarrying permits from local government units (LGU) where they are currently excavating.
Alburo said the firms were conducting quarrying even though their permits stated that they were only going to conduct “site development.”
Alburo said that the seven firms must secure a Special Permit to Dispose, which they can secure from the LGU as a requirement for the issuance of a quarrying permit.
Any firm caught quarrying without any permit will be given a chance to secure the requirements.
But they have to secure the requirements before they can resume their operations, Alburo said.
Alburo said the requirements are meant to ensure that all quarrying operations in Cebu are monitored and firms that are conducting them are held accountable for anything that they quarry.
However, firms that fail to secure permits despite consistent warnings could face criminal charges under the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, Alburo added. (JKV)