The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office of La Union has issued a cease-and-desist order against a quarry operator reported to be extracting quarry materials along the Aringay River in Tubao.
In a letter dated September 23, 2021, the provincial government, through Analyn Rosario-Valdez, La Union’s Provincial Government Environment and Natural Resources Office OIC asked a certain Edelberto C. Garcia “to cease and desist your extraction activities outside the applied area” warning 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.”
In a news release, 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.
Reportedly, 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.