CEBU, Philippines — The APO Cement Corporation has agreed to stop its operations during peak hours of the day to help address the traffic problem in the City of Naga.
In a meeting with Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, APO officials said they are willing to sacrifice their operations every 7-9 AM and 1-7 PM in order to avoid obstructing traffic along the national highway.
Traffic buildup in the area is usually caused by the delivery trucks transporting cement from the factory.
“I said we’ve been having so many meetings na ani and this has been taxing already on those who are using this national road,” Garcia said.
Cemex President Ignacio Mijares heeded to Garcia’s request after their meeting. As of early this week, what has been agreed upon by Cemex and the Capitol has already been followed.
Garcia added that the Province of Cebu will be sending people to monitor the traffic situation in the area.
“That is just for starters because we never know whether there are other times of the day where we could experience traffic buildup nasad,” the governor said.
Meanwhile, Garcia said the Capitol will also monitor the dust quality produced by Cemex.
She said the Environmental Management Bureau is now looking at emissions and the air quality in the area.
“I have a copy of the emissions. I am looking at some rather unusual spikes on the air quality and possible content of sulfuric acid,” Garcia said.
The Province of Cebu and Cemex will meet again next week regarding this issue.— FPL (FREEMAN)