MANILA, Philippines — Twelve persons have been arrested for alleged illegal quarry operations in Rodriguez, Rizal.
Heavy equipment and minerals worth P36.4 million were reportedly recovered from Ericson Cinco, Raul Garcia, Windel Bueno, Pablo Rimorin, Nico Yunapa, Roldan Bonife, Dexter Colas, Jojie Manzanillo, Albert Esto, Fernando Lopez, Randy Caganan and Danieboy Alejandro.
The suspects allegedly yielded 13 backhoes, three bulldozers, a drill rig, six dump trucks, six conveyor belts, 40 cubic meters of manufactured sand and 9,000 cubic meters of extracted and liberated aggregates.
Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)’s Environmental Crime Division launched an anti-illegal mining operation in Barangay San Isidro recently.
The NBI said it received reports that a group of workers were conducting mining and mineral extraction at the site.
It was later learned that neither the Mines and Geosciences Bureau nor the Rizal provincial and Rodriguez municipal governments issued a permit for the quarry operations.
The suspects, along with a certain Jose Allan Abarra Cruz, have been charged with violation of Republic Act 7942 or the Philippine Mining Act.