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CEBU CITY, Philippines - The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) provided the Office of the Ombudsman Visayas with the necessary information to continue its fact-finding inquiry on the road opening project of Consolacion Mayor Avelino Gungob Jr.
Both agencies were trying to find out where the limestone materials were brought, aside from dumping them at the Government Service Center in Barangay (village) Nangka, Consolacion town, Cebu.
Roger de Dios, MGB regional director, said the road opening project of Mayor Avelino Gungob Sr. is only a cover for his quarrying in Barangay Danglag.
He said the amount of limestone taken from the mountain for the project was questionable.
The DENR only allowed 15 kilometers in length and nine meters in width for the mountain highway but the Consolacion project has exceeded the limit.
Although De Dios said that a landslide would not affect anyone as no one lives nearby. The project, however, harmed the environment, he added.
When the mountain highway project started, De Dios said his office received complaints that the town was allegedly selling limestone materials.
When MGB investigated the allegation, they found out that Mayor Gungob was undertaking more than just a road opening project. Huge volume of limestone was also collected by the municipality.
The limestones were first dumped at the passenger terminal in Barangay (village) Poblacion.
The terminal had a gratuitous permit from the Capitol but it was revoked three months after the terminal was completed.
The town sought another permit for its Government Service Center but this was not granted because the project did not have an Environment Compliance Certificate from the DENR.
But this did not stop Gungob from continuing to get limestones for the project.
MGB also found out that some of the limestones were taken outside Consolacion.
De Dios said Gungob allegedly asked P400 to P600 per dump truck of limestones.
According to De Dios, the MGB was able to apprehend some of these dump trucks.
The results of the MGB investigation was handed over to the Visayas Ombudsman, De Dios said.
Virginia Palanca-Santiago, deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas, confirmed that she received the results of MGB's probe and handed it over to their office's investigator.
Santiago said the Ombudsman started investigation on the project when a private lot owner complained that part of his land was used in the town's project without his permission. /With Correspondent Chris A. Ligan
