‘Cancel, don’t just suspend,’ quarries in protected parks

“Don’t just suspend quarries in the Marikina watershed; cancel them as they don’t belong there.” Reforesters in the uplands of Rizal province pleaded to Malacañang as the onset of the rainy season again threatens destructive floods below. Rangers of Masungi GeoPark also sought protection against physical attacks and constant harassment by trespassers.

“Mere suspension means the quarries can resume operations and even be extended,” Engr. Ben Dumaliang wrote President Duterte on June 2. He heads the Masungi Georeserve Foundation that replants and rewilds 2,700 hectares of watershed.

The Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources suspended the other week three rock quarries in Baras town, Rizal. All three are within the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape. Downhill are Antipolo, Marikina, San Mateo, Cainta, Pasig and Quezon cities.

Suspended were Rapid City Realty and Development Corp., Quarry Rock Group Inc. and Quimson Limestone Inc. The interrelated firms hold Mineral Production Sharing Agreements in 1,000 hectares of fragile forests. The lower slopes of the quarries overlap Masungi GeoPark.

In signing the suspension, DENR Acting Sec. Jim Sampulna said there should be no “activity within the MPSA contract area... pending review of [Masungi’s] allegations.” Quarries contravene nature, conservationists decry.

“Cancellation is long overdue because the quarries are located in a geohazard zone prone to floods and landslides,” Dumaliang explained. “Besides, national parks and protected areas are closed to quarrying. Therefore the MPSAs are void from the start.” MGF has restored thousands of endemic trees since authorized in 2017 by then-Sec. Gina Lopez. Birds, butterflies, reptiles and wild boar have returned.

In March 2020, then-Sec. Roy Cimatu ordered the MPSAs revoked “for being anathema to the protected watershed.” Inspecting the site, he and anti-illegal logging officers tore down fences along Marikina-Infanta Highway ascending the Sierra Madres.

National Scientist and former Sec. Angel Alcala lauded Cimatu. In 1993, he forbade quarries and other destructive businesses in the area (Department Administrative Order No. 33). The 1977, Presidential Proclamation No. 1636 declared as a national park, wildlife sanctuary and game preserve the uplands of Rizal, Bulacan, Laguna and Quezon provinces.

PP 1636 and DAO 33 preceded and thus debarred the quarry permits of 1998, Dumaliang said. The 25-year MPSAs are about to expire. Replying to Sampulna’s show-cause order prior to suspension, the quarriers said they “will not give up.”

The quarries have been idle, Dumaliang said. But a dozen private swimming pool resorts sprouted. The two largest fenced off and diverted half a kilometer of riverway into their compounds. Word has reached Malacañang that a retired DENR official and an active police general have erected manors.

Masungi park rangers have been shot at while replanting and fencing off trespassers. Last February, seven of them were mauled and stoned by 30 employees of the resorts; two rangers were hospitalized for serious injuries. On April 26, Press Secretary Martin Andanar conveyed Malacañang’s order to investigate forest trespassing and timber cutting. As then acting presidential spokesman, he zeroed in on the quarries and resort construction: “We urge the DENR Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force to look into the matter and file charges against violators of environment laws.”

Masungi is a showcase of the Duterte administration. “Safeguarding the environment and natural resources is an important component in our sustainable development,” Andanar said.

Sixteen other quarries operate in the mountains of Rodriguez (Montalban), Rizal. The biggest is owned by a former DENR chief.

The 16 quarries in Rodriguez and the three in Baras were blamed for the catastrophic floods from Typhoon Ulysses in November 2020. Lives were lost; homes and shops inundated up to rooftops; vehicles, business equipment, home appliances, furniture and personal records ruined.

Rizal Gov. Rebecca Ynares urged DENR to stop all mining and rock crushing in 4,964 hectares. The quarrying goes on.

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