Apo Land and Quarry Corp. (ALQC) vows to comply with the government’s order suspending all quarrying activities in the region following a fatal landslide that claimed the lives of over 40 people in Naga City, Cebu last week.
“ALQC will temporarily cease its operations and exert efforts at helping normalize the situation in affected areas,” the company said in a statement reported by ABS-CBN.com.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) suspends all quarrying activities in several areas of the country for 15 days effective last Friday, September 21.
DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu noted he ordered a review and assessment of all quarry activities to determine the safety of such operations in the country.
“I would like to make sure this is not continued and nothing of this kind will happen in another quarry,” Cimatu was quoted as saying in a CNN Philippines report.
The order covers Central Visayas, as well as several areas in Luzon, and Mindanao.
Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III also halted all quarry activities in the Cebu, pending an investigation into the tragic incident. Local media reported the governor also ordered a review of all quarrying permits in the province.
ALQC, which has quarrying rights in Naga City, vowed to cooperate with the investigation the government may conduct into the incident.
In an interview with ANC Channel, the company clarified that although it has quarry rights to the area, its operations there had not yet started.
The company’s representative Chito Maniago clarified in the interview that ALQC has no plans to operate yet at the site this year or next year.
ALQC also said it is ready to aid to the affected families, noting it had already opened an evacuation facility and provided relief goods.
Triggered by heavy rains, a landslide at a quarrying site buried some 30 houses in Tinaan and Naalad on Thursday. Some of the recovered bodies were workers of Apo Land. Search and rescue operations are still ongoing for possible survivors of the incident.
Photo Courtesy of Cebu Provincial Government
