Limlingan: Working committee

THE committee on environment and natural resources of the Pampanga Provincial Board is a working committee.

Nope, not on any specific task but it's a committee that works and works hard for further development of Pampanga. Last week, the Committee that is headed by Provincial Board Member Nestor "Bay" Tolentino spearheaded a hearing that tackled various issues and concerns on quarrying activities.

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Nothing is wrong actually with the million-a-day industry but for some refinements and the introduction of some innovations in furtherance of the collection and for the win-win of all stakeholders.

During the hearing, the Kapampangan A Malugud At Matapat (Kalam) boys were congratulated. Of course for raking their all-time high record of P2.04 million bucks in a day. They deserve such commendation for a job well done and to further boost their morale and motivation and rake-in more revenues for the province. Capitol doesn't deserve another picket line such as the feat the Balas did.

Then the proposed access road was discussed as presented by the gentleman legislator from Apalit town. As a civil engineer, he is an authority when it comes to engineering works and marvels. He has a pro-active and dynamic mindset that when his aspiration for the province would be realized, another source of income for the government coffers.

A report that more than a 50 percent of the quarry trucks plying our roads are not paying fees to the government more particularly to the province. If only we would be tracking on these trucks, perhaps the Kalam Boys can ever surpass their record-breaking amount of their daily collection. The committee is working on this matter and would put up safety nets to strain those colorum trucks evading payment of fees.

Indiscriminate quarrying is also a problem that would be looked into. It was found out that many of "lazy" operators tend to scrape and haul sand near spillways and transverse dikes within the megadike causing damage to the same. Another consequence to this is the deviation of the natural flow of water within the dike that may cause breaches or damage to same.

Another important legislation being pushed by the committee is the passage of a unified Environment Code.

It's quite surprising that despite the different advocacies concerning our environment, the province is devoid of teeth of a local law that will grind violators. Non-segregation of garbage is still prevalent. The existence of an Ecological Solid Waste Management law failed to realize its guarantee of solving our garbage problems.

Governor Lilia Pineda must have been with smile to see a Committee working for one of her administration's thrust on the preservation and care for the environment. Aside from health, one of her priorities is the total solution to our garbage woes. She would not take the problem sitting down.

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It seems like everybody is doing its job for the protection of the environment. The Pampanga Mayors League (PML) is likewise serious in solving once and for all the garbage problem of each municipality in the province.

Candaba Mayor and president of the league Jerry Pelayo is a problem-solver and trash-buster who is exerting efforts in herding local chief executives address garbage problems in their respective kingdoms.

Pelayo is an expert in facing problems and providing solutions for such. His leadership dynamism and style has earned him the presidency of the group of municipal mayors in the province. Now on his third term, he deserves another public service post higher to what where he is now.

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A source has said that more than fifty percent of quarry trucks do not pay fees to the provincial capitol. In other words, there are still colorum trucks who evade payments to what is due for the government. Further, there are quarry operators who operate guerilla-style, digging everywhere and elsewhere to avoid payment of impositions. If only these kinds of evaders be monitored and dealt with, I am quite sure the Kalam Boys would be breaking their record of collection.

We hope the Provincial Government would look into these.