Tuesday, April 08, 2008 Illegal haulers at Toledo river warned
CAPITOL warned illegal haulers and even those with permits against illegal extraction of sand and gravel at the site of the proposed depth redefining of the Sapangdaku River in Barangay Cambang-ug, Toldeo City.
Lawyer Rory Jon Se-pulveda, Capitol consultant on information and revenue generation, said Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia will not hesitate to punish illegal haulers who do not abide by the law set for the widening of the river.
The Provincial Government proposes to redefine the river, specifically its stretch from the footbridge of Barangay Ilihan to the National Irrigation Administration dam in Barangay Cambang-ug.
Need for widening
The proposal was an offshoot of the result of the survey conducted by the Toledo City Government that the river, which has an uneven pattern of width ranging from 70 meters to 250 meters, needs to be widened.
The proposal includes the widening of depth of the river, from a minimum of 120 meters to a maximum of 250 meters.
The average width of the river is about 185 meters.
Sepulveda said the governor will impose stricter penalties against haulers caught extracting sand and gravel without necessary permits.
The governor will also not hesitate to revoke the licenses of those caught violating the law, he said.
Under the agreement, those with permits are only allowed to extract gravel and sand within their area subject.
Close monitoring
An enforcement team will closely monitor the activity. Violators will be dealt with accordingly, and their application to conduct the hauling will be rejected, he said.
The governor will sign a memorandum of agreement tomorrow with various government agencies—Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (Penro), the Toledo City Government, local police and the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) 7, among others—for the implementation of the proposed scheme.
The Multi-Partite Monitoring Team, which is composed of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau 7, EMB 7, Penro, Community Environment and Natural Resources Office and barangay captains, is tasked to regularly monitor the proposed river widening for at least once in every quarter.
Barangay officials and other concerned residents may seek legal remedy from the Provincial Legal Office for the filing of appropriate charges. (GMD)
