'Spare our river,' Janiuay execs appeal as quarry moratorium urged
A day after the good news of P5 million bridge repair fund, town officials of Janiuay, Iloilo echoes anew its continued appeal for quarry moratorium.
"Spare us from downstream quarrying. Spare our river. Spare and help us save the Suage River," came now the unified call led by Mayor Ben Margarico.
With continued quarry activities here, the downstream ones minus the town's nod and acceptance, Mayor Margarico called for provincial government action.
Such as majority members of the town's council have since fought against renewal of quarry permits issued by the Iloilo Provincial Government.
Councilor Soc Abonado, Chairman of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources shared the mayor's sentiments saying one battle was won yet another continues.
"We are grateful to have received the good news on the Suage bridge repair. Our gratitude to the Office of the Ombudsman for helping us get the immediate government intervention we needed. And we are certainly grateful for the quick response of Director Rolando Asis of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). All the more that we need now to have this quarry moratorium specifically the downstream quarrying," Abonado said in a The News Today (TNT) interview.
To recall, the town's plight reached the anti-graft body's attention with an investigation conducted on the validity of its concern.
Among those sought by the Ombudsman was the DPWH with a response that laid down the department's action as remedial measures to the historic Suage bridge. Massive quarrying has since been blamed on the degradation of the Suage river and eventually, damage on the bridge's foundation. Yet the DPWH in a letter sent by the Iloilo Provincial Government was told that issued quarry permits here were within the bounds of law.
The P5 million repair fund was thereby allocated amidst fears of the bridge's collapse.