A task force was formed to address complaints and issues concerning the commercial and illegal quarrying operations in Davao City.
The city government of Davao has formed Inter-Agency Task Group for Quarrying Operations, this after Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte issued Executive Order (EO) No. 54, Series of 2022, which he signed on October 6, 2022, citing several written and verbal complaints lodged to the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) relative to the unregulated and illegal quarrying activities conducted by permit holders and other individuals.
“There is a need to appropriately address the aforesaid complaints and other forthcoming related issues and concerns, and to guarantee the proper implementation of quarrying laws and other related policies and ordinances in addressing the same,” it said.
The task force is headed by the Office of the City Mayor as chairperson, City Administrator’s Office as co-chairperson, and Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau (MGB)-Region 11 as vice chairperson.
Its members are (CENRO), the City Engineer’s Office (CEO), the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) — Zoning Division, the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO), the Public Safety & Security Command Center (PSSCC), the City Legal Office, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Mindanao Association of Mining Engineers (MAEM), Society of Filipino Foresters, Inc. (SFFI), and Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS).
Among the functions of the task force include to conduct a regular ocular inspection of all quarry areas to determine whether there are unregulated and illegal quarrying operations within the city; prepare the necessary report highlighting the violations and make the corresponding recommendations to address the concerns related to the unregulated and illegal quarrying operations; monitor and ensure that all the terms and conditions in quarry permits are strictly complied with; formulate mitigating measures to be adopted to properly address any negative environmental impact during operations; and make a periodic report to the city mayor.
Davao City has approved quarry permits for commercial sand and gravel, earth fill, and limestone along the Davao, Lasang, Matina Pangi, and Talomo rivers.
It can be recalled that then Mayor Sara Duterte created an inter-agency task group to address similar issues relating to quarrying activities in the city.
In her Executive Order (E.O) No. 48, released on August 12, 2020, Mayor Sara noted the many complaints received by CENRO on alleged unregulated and illegal quarrying activities by permit holders and other individuals.
