BACOLOR , Pamp. – The administration of Gov. Lilia “Nanay Baby” Pineda is willing to spend P100 million for the construction of a “dedicated lane” for quarry trucks, so as not to derail the operation of the quarry industry.
This came in the heels of Pineda’s order to ban of all quarry trucks traversing along the Megadike here, at the same time canceling quarry permits of operators in Sta. Rita and this town.
Arthur Punzalan, chief of the Environment and Natural Resources Office (ENRO) said the Pineda administration will be funding the establishment of the said access road for quarry trucks not only parallel to the Megadike but also in other areas in the province.
Since Day One of the Pineda administration, the quarry industry has hit a collection of more than P1 million up to P1.5 million per day.
During a dialogue with the concerned mayors and quarry operators, Pineda asked their cooperation to help the province in maintaining major roads and thoroughfares used by quarry trucks.
However, the quarry operators told the governor they are regularly giving “pass-way fees” to the local government units amounting to P810 per truck for road maintenance.
Pineda was surprised about the revelation of the quarry operators, saying that the P810 pass-way is “too much” compared to the quarry fee of P300 per truck that they remit to the provincial government.
Pineda noted that the more than P1-million collection per day is not totally given to the provincial capitol.
“Iyong 40 percent ng collection napupunta sa barangay, iyong 30 percent sa munisipyo, iyong natitirang 30 percent iyon lang ang sa kapitolyo. Tapos mayroon pa pala silang P810 na pass-way?,” Pineda asked.
The governor also asked the quarry operators to identify the concerned local government officials who collect pass-way fees from the truckers.
Pineda then asked quarry operators to always coordinate with the government to avoid the destruction of roads, particularly the Megadike.
The quarry operators said they would do their best to cooperate and help the provincial government, vowing to abide by the order of the governor.
They said they would consult their respective quarry groups about the issues raised by the governor and come up with a win-win proposal to be submitted to the governor.
Pineda, during an inspection yesterday, personally saw the damages of the West Lateral Dike, and was surprised by its man-made breaching and destruction.
Joel P. Mapiles
Central Luzon Daily
