CITY OF SAN FERNANDO —The Sangguniang Panlalawigan led by Vice Governor Dennis “Delta” Pineda eyed the suspension of the issuance of government and private gratuitous permits for an indefinite period of time.
The provincial board has approved Resolution No.4369 requesting Governor Lilia Pineda to suspend the gratuitous permits until they have completed a review of Ordinance No. 586 known as “Environment Code of the Province of Pampanga”.
Second District Board Member Salvador Dimson Jr. sponsored the resolution, which was approved by all his colleagues during its regular session last Friday.
Dimson, chair of the board’s committee on environment and natural resources said they want to know if there is a need for additional regulatory measures concerning gratuitous permits for mineral resources such as sand.
He added that if necessary, they may revise Ordinance No. 586 or draft a separate quarry code as guide to local governments.
He also quoted Section 46 of the Environment Code of the Province of Pampanga, approved on April , 2013, which identifies government gratuitous permits as those “issued upon request to component city or municipalities as well as to other government agencies to extract sand and gravel or filling materials for use for their infrastructure undertakings, which permit is normally co-terminous to the project.”
He added that same section identifies private gratuitous permits as those “issued upon request to a land owner to extract sand and gravel or loose and unconsolidated materials from his property for personal use for a period not exceeding sixty (60) days, which permit is non-renewable.”
With this resolution, Vice Governor Pineda directed Arthur Punsalan, provincial government environment and natural resources officer to submit pertinent data for the review.
