DENR halts quarry operations in 2 Bulacan towns

The Environment and Natural Resources department suspended on Wednesday all marble quarry operations in the Biak-na-Bato National Park, Mineral Reservation, Watershed Forest Reserve and Forest Reserve located in the towns of Doña Remedios Trinidad and San Miguel in Bulacan province. Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes issued the order after the Bulacan provincial government was found to have illegally issued the permits to quarry in the said forest reserves. The Bulacan provincial government issued five permits to quarry, two inside the Watershed Forest Reserve, one inside the Mineral Reservation and two in an area which straddles the Mineral Reservation and the Watershed Forest Reserve. Reyes’ suspension order also covers the operations of Rosemoor Mining and Development Corporation inside the Biak-na-Bato Mineral Reservation for violating the terms and conditions of its Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA). The suspension came following the request of Bulacan Governor Josefina dela Cruz for the cancellation of its MPSA. Dela Cruz told Reyes there were irregularities in the issuance of the agreement and the ore transport permits and that the Biak-na-Bato National Park is being desecrated. President Manuel L. Quezon established the Biak-na-Bato National Park in 1937 but on April 11, 1989, former President Corazon Aquino issued Proclamation No. 401 that carved out the Mineral Reservation, Watershed Forest Reserve and Forest Reserve from the original Quezon decree and placed it under direct control and administration of the DENR. Of the 3,030 hectares covered by Proclamation 401, only 658.8 hectares remained as a National Park while 952.2 hectares have been set aside as mineral reservation. The Mineral Reservation has a unique and internationally-known marble deposit, called as Tea Rose. The DENR, on the other hand, issued the MPSA to Rosemoor in December 2002. The MPSA is located on the eastern side of the mineral reservation in Doña Remedios Trinidad town. The MPSA area covers 330.3 hectares, the same area covered by the company’s Quarry License (QL) No. 33, a mining right issued by the government on Aug. 3, 1982. A DENR multi-sectoral team discovered Rosemoor incurred insufficient payment of excise taxes, occupation fees and royalties and failed to provide measures to prevent air and water pollution and lacked an approved Environment Protection and Enhancement Program (EPEP). Reyes said Rosemoor’s operations will remain suspended until it has complied with several conditions like the full payment of all taxes and fees due to the national and local governments including the payment of royalty due from the mineral reservation. Reyes, on the other hand, clarified that there was no irregularity in the issuance of the MPSA to Rosemoor as alleged by Governor dela Cruz. At the same time, Reyes ordered the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to immediately undertake a comprehensive hydrogeological assessment of the entire area to determine the impacts of the quarry operations to the surrounding water bodies. - GMANews.TV