ALL the reasons, excuses and justifications cited by Porac Quarry Association president Mike Tapang lead only to one thing: a smoother and much better way for himself and his members to convert lahar sand into cash.

A fallacy is a misconception resulting from incorrect reasoning. It's a false notion or a statement/argument based on invalid inference. Fallacious arguments can be quite persuasive to many folk, as it is sometimes hard to evaluate.

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Tapang, who hugged the headlines last year, was the president of the Federation of Pampanga Truckers Inc. (FPTI) whom Provincial Administrator Vivian Dabu wanted to remain with the Capitol's Technical Working Group (TWG) though he was already expelled by the federation's board of trustees as its president on December 12, 2008.

Tapang is once again in the news. He wants the Department of Public Works and Highways to allow the hundreds of heavy trucks carrying quarry materials to use the western portion of the multi-billion pesos FVR Megadike as an alternate route towards Metro Manila and other areas where the gravel and sand are being sold by his group.

According to news reports, Tapang has claimed that allowing quarry trucks to use the Megadike will lessen the volume of trucks plying the Porac-Angeles road, Circumferential Road and McArthur Highway, "thus preserving" the said roads.

To apparently appease the public's apprehension on the deterioration and damage to be caused by heavy trucks to the anti-lahar and anti-flood structure, Tapang proposes that the some 15-kilometer western portion of the dike be transformed into a toll road where motorists will be charged with a la NLEx and SCTEx road fees. He said this might be the "solution" to the perennial problem of road deterioration and traffic jams, as quarry trucks will have an alternate route.

He claimed that the Megadike is strong enough to accommodate the volume of heavy trucks carrying sand and gravel materials. Otherwise, he said, the contractors of the SCTEx would not have used it during the construction of the toll road.

Tapang even assured that his group "will shoulder the repair of the dike if it is breached by quarry trucks."

I'm not sure if Tapang knew that repairing the Megadike is not a simple process of re-applying sand and cements. I was writing for a national daily and international news wires when the Megadike was being constructed. A testing machine was even used by non-government groups, particularly the Save San Fernando Foundation Inc., to ensure the correct compaction of the lahar materials inside the dike.

The fallacious arguments of Tapang were clear: To preserve the national roads, they should be free from the large volume of trucks loaded with quarry materials. The heavy trucks that have been causing damage to the roads should be diverted to the Megadike, which, if damaged by the trucks, will be repaired by the truckers' group.

Previous news reports have quoted DPWH officials that the Megadike, which was eventually converted into a road, should be used only by light vehicles. This was the primary reason why the agency installed vertical clearance marks over the dike to prevent heavy trucks from passing through the Megadike road.

If quarry trucks can damage national roads that are designed to be used by both light and heavy vehicles, what had made Tapang think that the Megadike is strong enough to accommodate the large volume of quarry-loaded trucks on a daily basis?

The false dichotomy Tapang uses in his pro-quarry truckers arguments is that the only solution to his group's woes - due to the imposition of the 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. truck ban in Angeles City - is to allow them to use the Megadike as an alternate route.

The "red herring" fallacy in his argument, on the other hand, is his repeated statement on "preserving" the national roads and freeing them from traffic jams.

In the vernacular, Tapang's arguments may be summed up like this: Para mabawas ing masikip a traffic saka e nala masira ding dalan, paburen yu kaming dumalan king Megadike. Nung asira miya man ing Megadike (uling marakal la at mangabayat la karga ding truck mi), ikami namu ing balang mag-repair king dike. (To minimize traffic jams and prevent the deterioration of roads, let us use the Megadike. Should we damage the Megadike [due to large volume and heavy loads of our trucks], we will just repair it).

Perhaps Mr. Tapang needs to be reminded that the lives of Pampanga folks do not revolve around the business and profits of quarry operators and truckers.

The Megadike was never intended for heavy quarry trucks. It was intended to protect the lives and properties of Second and Third District residents. Eventually, it was transformed into an alternate route between the City of San Fernando-Bacolor area and Porac-Angeles City area for ordinary motorists.

And the fact that the Megadike was used by truckers in delivering sand materials for the SCTEx in the past, does not mean it should now be used by quarry truckers in their business. Letting trucks loaded with quarry materials pass over the multi-billion dike was a bad call on the part of whoever had allowed it to happen. It was an unsound decision and it should not be repeated, especially if it will serve only the business interests of quarry operators and truckers.