Suage bridge condition alarms Ombudsman
Probe up on Capitol quarry permit issuances
An Ombudsman fact-finding investigation is now underway to ascertain the regularity and legality of the issuances of quarry permits in Janiuay, Iloilo.
In what appears to be a moto propio move for the government's anti-graft body, a team from the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas, Iloilo Regional Office was sent in the area to start groundwork. This, amidst concerns of possible collapse of the historic Suage Bridge, the bridge foundation now suffering tremendously the huge impact of downstream quarrying here.
The disclosure was made yesterday by Deputy Ombudsman Pelagio Apostol following an open forum with members of the local press.
"Baka mag-collapse... let us not wait for it to happen... our concern here is the issuance of quarry permits...," Deputy Ombudsman Apostol said.
No time frame has been set though on the said fact-finding probe yet The News Today (TNT) learned that a visit was already made on concerned barangay, municipal and environment officials.
To recall, unified action has since been sought by town officials on the plight of the Suage Bridge, a ten-tonner bridge built during the war and now serves as principal link of Janiuay to and from elsewhere in Panay. Located at Barangay Jibolo, it stands as the one and only passage of all other commuters with a conservative estimate of at least 2,000 in private and public transport passing through daily. The buses of the national government's "Strong Republic Nautical Highway" program are some of the regular sights here and ten-wheeler trucks too with heavy load.
TNT in an earlier report gathered that significant changes on the foundation of the bridge were noted early this year and said to have worsened in the past months. Yet locals said massive quarrying has been going on for years now with Janiuay as the main quarry site for the multi-billion new airport in Cabatuan-Sta. Barbara area.
Intervention of the Iloilo Sanggunian Panlalawigan (SP) has since been sought as well with several municipal council Resolutions passed.
Amend at least two provincial ordinances on quarry operations, the council requested alongside amendments that will require quarry applicants to secure and present a resolution of the Sanggunian Barangay where extraction is to be conducted.
Members of the town's council also want said resolution to bear conformity of the barangay concerned and a similar favorable endorsement by the Sanggunian Bayan "having territorial jurisdiction over the area subject of the application…"
Another Resolution was passed from the Magapa-Sauge River Basin Management Council – "Resolution to bring to the attention of the Provincial Government the concern regarding the threat of quarry operations to the integrity of the Januiay Bridge in Jibolo, Januiay and of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Diversion Dam in Tolarucan, Mina."
And finally, Resolution No. 2007-121 requesting Governor Niel Tupas "to conduct an actual field investigation of the cause of massive scouring of aggregates within the foundation of the Suage River Bridge Pier of Janiuay, Iloilo."
Board Member Celia Colada, native of Januiay was first to express her concern while backing up colleagues in the Janiuay Municipal Council "for the unified battle to save the Suage River and save the Suage Bridge from further destruction."
Mayor Bienvenido Margarico also led the call for help and immediate intervention made to environment officials. This, as temporary solutions have since been implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) here if only to reinforce the foundation of the bridge.
TNT in an exclusive report obtained documents confirming initial findings of a government response team sent to check the bridge's condition. Said report did state that downstream quarrying is one of the stated principal causes of the damage.
Mayor Margarico then said he wants the concern resolved as soon as possible particularly since two recent quarry permits were renewed by the Capitol again. Worse, the mayor pointed out, in spite of the fears expressed by Janiuaynons, the permittees were still granted go-signal with no consultations made to his office.
"Who will be blamed once that bridge collapse? Who will be blamed now that our resources here have been depleted? It's not them in the Capitol but us here. And who will suffer most than us, people of Janiuay?," Mayor Margarico decried.
As early as June 26 this year, a public hearing was called with the mayor as among those present.
Chaired by Councilor Francisco "Soc" Abonado, the committee gathered key officials from the DPWH, the municipal, provincial and regional environment officials and local stakeholders.
Rogelio Barreto, an Eco-System Management Specialist for 20 years in said hearing acknowledged the difficulties faced by local government units (LGUs) particularly on quarry permit issuance by the Capitol.
"You should let them know you are opposing the grant of the permit," Barreto's statement went as per hearing's discussions.
Downstream quarrying, he also explained to the body was indeed a problem in Janiuay.
"The allowance of 1 kilometer downstream and upstream is not enough to protect our structure. Actually, the riverbeds are composed of loose sand and on top of that are stones. The natural thing to happen is that this will be eroded downstream because of quarry operations. Whatever volume extracted will be replaced by volumes of sand and gravel upstream. This will happen gradually. This is one reason why the foundation of Suage River Bridge is already exposed. In order that this thing will be mitigated, operations of quarry concessions downstream of the bridge will be stopped. Quarry operations upstream may continue," Barreto in his statement before the June Committee hearing said.
"We have seen the problem that's why we want to protect our resources. There was one instance wherein the Sanggunian Bayan recommend commercial quarry, it became industrial when approved," Mayor Margarico in his concerns told the Committee. "It appeared that the barangays and the municipality are not consulted anymore. You know this matter has become a political thing. We will be the ones who will suffer the consequences later. We don't want to have pretensions."
A moratorium of at least two years in all quarry operations was also sought as temporary solution called for by the town's environmental and natural resources chief, Ricardo Minurito.
"All we are asking and pleading for is at least two years in moratorium. Let us stop all quarry activities here in that period and allow our river and our resources to regain what it has lost in the past years," Minurito said. "Anyway we have provided for the major projects of Iloilo. Two years. That is all that we ask."