MORE NEWS, CAGAYAN

Task force formed to nab overloaded Cagayan trucks

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan – Regional authorities have formed a task force that will go after overloaded trucks to make paved roads last longer.

Eugenio Pipo Jr., Region II director of the Department of Public Works and Highways said the crackdown was in compliance with a directive of Public Works and Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. for the strict enforcement of Republic Act No. 8794 or the Anti-Overloading Law.

The task force, which will operate even on weekends and holidays, is composed of personnel of the DPWH, Land Transportation Office and the Philippine National Police.

"The rapid deterioration of our national roads is costing the government billions of pesos annually, and that’s why there is a need for the concerned agencies to apprehend vehicles violating the law on load limit," Ebdane said.

Pipo said that DPWH and its partner agencies are now apprehending overloaded trucks on Maharlika Highway in Cagayan, Isabela. and Nueva Vizcaya. The Region 2 DPWH office signed recently a memorandum of agreement with the Land Transportation Office, Philippine National Police and concerned local government units on the strict enforcement of the law prohibiting overloaded trucks from passing through major roads.

"Because our region is one of the food baskets of the country, most of the truckers are maximizing the loads of their trucks to save on transport cost, but this is causing the fast deterioration of roads," Pipo said. "Their cargoes should not exceed the per-axle load limit."

As one of the country’s major source of food supplies such as vegetables, rice, and corn, the upkeep of the highway traversing Cagayan Valley is important in the efforts to stabilize prices of goods coming from the region, he said.

In Nueva Vizcaya, police director Senior Supt. Pedro Danguilan said, the Highway Patrol Group is in close coordination with municipal police units and the highways and transportation offices in the enforcement of the law on load limit.

"We are active in the implementation of this directive, but we are asking the help of the citizens, particularly businessmen, who will be affected by unstable prices of their produce due to damaged roads," Danguilan said.

He said that communications lines of the police provincial office are always open to those who are willing to share information on the matter. -- BC


Illegal sand quarrying unabated in Cagayan
TUGUEGARAO CITY – Despite protest from the local Catholic Church and lack of permits, illegal sand quarrying continues along the Cagayan River, threatening to cause floods and affect irrigation due to the flow of sea water into the river.

The quarrying operations, reportedly financed by Chinese groups, go on unabated in the northern coastal towns in Cagayan up to the mouth of Cagayan River. Fr. Rex Singson, of Camalaniugan town, said the illegal activities, if not stopped, would eventually destroy thousands of hectares of farmlands and irrigation systems, especially those near the mouth of Cagayan River.

“We earlier had made formal complaints with the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) on this matter but to no avail, since the contractors have not heeded our complaints,” Singson lamented.

Fr. Manny Catral, of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao, echoed Singson’s fears, saying the continued quarrying could lead to the submerging of some villages in the northern coastal areas.

“What if the silt has become so deep, what if water from the sea will flow back and saltwater will begin to stream down, what will happen to our farms?” he asked.

Local contractors are reportedly being financed by Chinese groups to quarry sand from the Cagayan River delta because of its much higher value than inland sand. Lawyer Gil Aromin,
regional director of the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau, said the quarrying operators do not have any environmental compliance certificate (ECC) from the government.

“Since this a violation of the law, we will be constrained to issue a cease and desist order against (them),” Aromin said.

But the church officials lamented the DENR’s alleged inability to stop the quarry operations despite being aware that they lack permits.

“I have seen it with my own eyes and we have already voiced out our complaints to the DENR but to no avail,” said Singson. -- CL