INQUIRER FILES
PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur — Stress gripped Barangay Gawil in Kumalarang city in Zamboanga del Sur over the weekend when a workforce from the Provincial Atmosphere and Pure Sources Workplace (Penro) seized the heavy tools utilized in dredging the closely silted Gawil River within the village.
Charlie Talibong, head of the Activity Power tasked to cease unlawful quarrying actions, stated they confiscated the backhoe owned by the municipal authorities to cease the dredging which didn’t have the mandatory allow from their workplace.
Talibong stated they heard experiences {that a} backhoe had been working within the space however as quickly as they approached the positioning, the backhoe operator ran away.
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Later, the Municipal Atmosphere and Pure Sources Officer (Menro) arrived however couldn’t produce the paperwork that confirmed the legality of the operation, he stated. This pressured them to confiscate the backhoe.
“With out the paperwork introduced, the heavy tools should be seized (as a result of) the underside line right here is that they don’t have allow,” he stated.
Talibong additionally stated that the exercise was additionally thought of quarrying as a result of the aggregates taken from the realm might be bought out there.
Kumalarang city Mayor Ruel Molina stated he ordered the dredging which began on August 20 upon the request of barangay officers who wished to desilt the river following the Might 17 flooding that affected 1,300 households within the space.
He stated a part of the mandate of the native authorities was to search out measures to mitigate damages from calamities like flooding, which Kumalarang was vulnerable to throughout wet seasons.
Barangay Gawil Kagawad Rafael Namatay stated the barangay allotted P80,000 counterpart funds for dredging the river.
He stated that a number of neighboring barangays had beneficial dredging as a mitigating measure to minimize the impression of flooding within the space.
The confiscation of the backhoe and the cease of the dredging operation drew hostile reactions from native individuals.
Keg Olanda, a farmer and father of seven youngsters and whose cows had been swept away by the Might 17 flood, stated the provincial authorities may assist clear up their downside by sending extra heavy tools to hasten the dredging, not by confiscating it.
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“A minimum of if it floods once more, it received’t be as excessive because the one we skilled final Might 17,” he stated. INQ
