MANDAUE CITY, Philippines - Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes on Monday ordered the stop of illegal “quarrying” operations in the upland sitios (districts) of the villages of Tawason and Casili, which have almost obliterated a mountain of limestone.
Cortes said the massive quarrying was the cause of flooding in the low-lying barangays (villages) of Mandaue City.“That is why there is no solution to the flooding problem in Mandaue because trees have been cut and the entire mountain (lost),” Cortes said. According to the mayor, the quarrying operations “hid” under the guise of site development for private housing projects and practically destroyed an entire mountain since it started more than 20 years ago. If the activity was really for site development, houses should have already been built in the area, said Cortes. The land where the quarrying operations is being done is owned by Damian Yongco and covers about 30 hectares in barangays Casili and Tawason. Cortes issued a “cease and desist order” on the permits previously issued by the city government during the time of acting Mayor Amadeo Seno, as well as that of former mayors Thadeo and Alfredo Ouano. The permit issued by Seno, according to Cortes, was specifically for the development of a road to the supposed housing project of the Yongco. He said he was not familiar with the permits issued by the Ouanos. He said he would also check whether the operations were given environment clearances. Other quarrying activities in the area will also be looked into, according to Cortes. The stopping of the “site development” which the mayor described as “quarrying” also included the project undertaken by Emilio Codiñera. The lots owned by Codiñera in Casili were developed using Yongco's heavy equipment. Cortes noted of the dangers that the quarrying has posted to the transmission towers of the National Power Corporation, wherein only a little area is left for its base. Residents and students of the Don Calixto Yongco Elementary School complained of knee-deep flooding during rainy days. The mayor said the flood waters are believed to spill over to the central portions of Mandaue. Cebu Daily News tried to reach Yongco but the calls were unanswered. Calls to Yongco's brother Calixto II were answered by a woman who said they do not know the contact number of Damian Yongco. The mayor along with other city officials as well as barangay captains Vidal Cabatingan of Casili and Jesus Arcilla Jr. of Tawason visited the upland real properties of Damian Yongco covering about 30 hectares in both barangays. When Cortes brought the media to the area, bulldozers and other heavy equipment were still at the site, although there was no operation. According to Arcilla, the owner of a property near the Yongcos complained that their lots were no longer accessible as it was also affected by the illegal quarrying. What is left of the mountain are bare mounds of 100 to 200 feet. Cabatingan said that the anapog soil is primarily the ones which were mined in the area to be sold to construction sites which needed filling materials. Cortes ordered the barangay officials to plant trees in the area. He also assured that the city government will implement a strict policy and monitoring on the issuance of site development permits. | 
