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Chito Maniago, representative of Apo Land and Quarry Corp. (ALQC) facilitated the discussion of the Zero Landslide Risk Reduction Plan in Tinaan, Naga City. The head of the Mining Management Division of the Bureau of Mines and Geosciences (MGB-7), Raul Laput (left), as well as the directors of the Apo Cement Plant, Gery Rota and Cemex Phils, attended the meeting. President Ignacio Mijares.
Photo CDN / Lito Tecson
Despite the appeal of employees of Apo Cement Corporation (Apocemco), the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Central Visayas (DENR-7) has been firm in its decision to suspend the company's activities in the quarry .
DENR – 7 Regional Director Gilbert Gonzales said that although he understood employees' fears of losing their jobs if career activities did not return to normal, safety factors needed to be taken into account.
Last Wednesday, about 200 Apocemco employees staged a protest outside the Sitio Sudlon DENR-7 regional office, Barangay Lahug, Cebu City, calling on the agency to lift its suspension order against the company.
The workers urged the DENR to allow the company's operations to resume in order to prevent the temporary dismissal of 30% of their employees as of December 13th.
"We can not just bring back the inhabitants and allow the operations if we have not eliminated the danger," said Gonzales, referring to the dangers left by the deadly landslide in Barangay Tinaan, in the city of Naga, which killed 78 people and buried hundreds of homes last September.
"We will just wait for the final report of the MGB (Bureau of Mines and Geosciences)," he said.
Risk reduction plan
In the area affected by the Sitio Sindulan landslide in Barangay Tinaan, Apo Land and Quarry Corp. (ALQC), the company that operates most of the quarry sites in the city of Naga, has given DENR the go-ahead to continue implementing its project. Risk Reduction Plan (HRP).
On Thursday 29 November, a sacred Mass followed by the release of ten doves marked the beginning of the implementation of HRP.
The project includes the construction of the Sindulan Security Wall, the clearing of the Pangdan River Road and the construction of a Sitio Tagaytay drainage system at Sindulan Creek.
The three projects, worth about 47 million pesos, will last at least 177 working days.
The Sindulan Security Wall, a 180-by-10-meter barrier, will be built to protect the rest of Sitio Sindulan from potential hazards from landslide debris.
Before construction can begin, ALQC will need to transport approximately 300,000 tonnes of debris from the landslide area as part of the soil preparation.
This phase will last 33 working days or approximately 6 weeks.
The construction of the wall, including the necessary excavations for its foundations, will take another 65 working days or at least 11 weeks.
Based on the schedule presented by Apochemco Plant Manager Gery Rota, construction work on the safety wall will begin in early December and be completed by the end of March 2019.
The clearing of the Pangdan River Trail, blocked by debris and rocks, will begin in mid-January 2019 and is expected to be completed by four months.
Rota said that they would also work to stabilize the slopes surrounding the river to prevent another landslide.
Rota said the drainage system that will be built will provide a path to rainwater that could accumulate on top of the collapsed mountain, so that the remaining soil in the area is not washed away by the rain. water in the low areas.
The drainage system project will start in the second week of May and is expected to be completed in July.
Despite DENR's notification to proceed with the implementation of HRP, ALQC is prohibited from providing the debris transported to its sister company, Apocemco, as an ingredient for cement production.
The debris transported will be stored in an area close to the cement plant.
White Empleo, secretary of Tinaan's barangay who attended the discussions on the HRP, asked why the debris would be stored while they could be treated to prevent the workers from storing it. Apocemco to be completely fired.
However, the head of the MGB Mining Management Division, Raul Laput, said that the regional office could not authorize Apocemco to process the documents, as it was his central office that had expressed the opinion to continue the plan. risk reduction and set the conditions.
Chito Maniago, director of communications at Cemex Holdings Philippines, said his talks with DENR officials were continuing in the hope of resuming operations or treating materials transported from the ground zero.
Cemex Holdings Philippines owns Apo Cement Corp. and the majority of ALQC shares.
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