Ten of the 11 sand quarry permittees in Looc in the town of Sibulan have been ordered closed last week by Acting Gov. Mark Macias for violation of the conditions of their Environmental Compliance Certificates.
Capitol officials served the Cease and Desist Order Thursday, which was issued following the recommendation of the Department of Environment & Natural Resources.
Macias said that in view of the ECC violations, he was asked by the DENR not to issue Delivery Receipts, to stop the transport of the extracted sand to other provinces.
ECCs are required when a quarry is operated for commercial purposes.
Macias has scheduled a meeting with environment officials on Monday in preparation for the creation of the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board.
The creation of the PMRB, he said, is mandated by Republic Act 7076 or the Philippine Small Scale Mining Act.
The PMRB will be the implementing agency of the DENR, and shall have the power to award mining contracts, formulate and implement rules and regulations related to small-scale mining, and settle disputes, conflicts or litigations over conflicting mining claims, among others.
The PMRB will be tasked to process the applications for quarries to ease the burden on the Governor to make decisions in issuing mining permits.
“I hope this contribution will be of help to the Province, even after I go back to being Vice Governor in January,” Macias said.