CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Officers of the Provincial Environment Management Office (PEMO) of Negros Occidental visited the province recently to benchmark on the best practices and study the management of the province's quarry industry.
The activity was led by Provincial Government of Pampanga by Special Assistant to the Governor (SAG) of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Angelina Blanco.
Blanco was assisted by the Kapampangan a Lulugud at Matapat (KALAM), Provincial Treasurer's Office (PTO), Provincial Legal Office, and representatives from the Pampanga Quarry Operators Association.
According to Blanco, funds raised by the quarry industry is one of the main sources of funds for the Pampanga provincial government.
This enables the provincial government to carry out its health, education, and social programs.
"Despite the massive destruction brought on by the Mt. Pinatubo eruption, Pampanga was nevertheless able to transform this tragedy into an opportunity to recover from the aftermath through the effective management of the KALAM, the dedication of the PTO in the collection of taxes, and the support of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan through its ordinances," Blanco saidm
The Negros Occidental officials thanked the provincial government of Pampanga for the support.
They added that they have gained valuable information in the management of local resources.
“We really like to learn a lot about what you do in your monitoring... para sa ‘min, kayo ay isang inspirasyon. Actually, medyo na-overwhelm din kami sa presentation. On behalf of Gov. Bong Lacson, salamat at marami talaga kaming makukuha mula rito because we are also imposing new fees, and we just had our revised ordinance and also the revenue code, kaya salamat talaga. Sana pala’y bago kami nag-amend, pumunta na kami. Also, the new implementation of the anti-overloading, it is also a really good policy that should be replicated not just to your neighboring provinces, but to all of us,” PEM officer Julie Ann Bedrio of the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental, said.
Topics discussed included the permitting, licensing, monitoring, and collection systems of the quarry program of Pampanga.