The provincial government of La Union has stopped the quarry operations along Aringay River in Tubao for alleged violation of national laws and provincial ordinances.
In a letter dated September 23, 2021, the provincial government asked a certain Edelberto C. Garcia "to cease and desist your extraction activities outside the applied area" and that "failure to do so, much to our regret, shall constrain us to endorse the matter for appropriate action to the Provincial Mining and Regulatory Board."
The alleged illegal quarrying in Tubao was discovered after the provincial government received a report of an illegal quarry operation along Aringay River in Tubao. Based on the forwarded pictures from a concerned citizen, the operation was allegedly undertaken by Garcia in Barangay Leones East, Tubao.
Garcia has an ongoing application of renewal of his industrial sand and gravel permit in La Union.
The provincial government, together with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB) Region 1, conducted a joint investigation in the area on September 14, 2021.
Personnel from DENR-MGB RO1 gathered global positioning system readings on the location of the extraction activities and based on the plotting, the extraction site was found to be outside the applied permit area of Garcia.
They subsequently submitted recommendations through a memorandum dated September 17, 2021 stating that Garcia was operating outside his permitted area.
Environment officials recommended that Garcia stop his operation, rehabilitate the area where he extracted the sand outside his area and pay the penalty for violating Article 9, Section 2A of Provincial Ordinance 274-2021.
They also asked the local government unit of Tubao to monitor extraction along Aringay River to avoid illegal operation and extraction activities.