• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) of Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park has requested Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Raphael Lotilla to authorize Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson to issue a special permit for the clearing of lahar sediments at a creek in Barangay Biak na Bato in La Castellana town.
The request was stated in a resolution unanimously approved by the PAMB during its en banc meeting held at the Provincial Capitol Social Hall in Bacolod City yesterday.
Lacson earlier bared his plan of tapping commercial contractors to speed up the clearing of volcanic materials from the Ibid Creek in Sitio Tamburong instead of just using the equipment of the provincial government in the extraction operation.
“The issuance of special permit will help hasten the clearing of volcanic sediments,” Lacson said after the PAMB meeting presided by its chairman Regional Director Charlie Fabre of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources- Negros Island Region,
The volume of the volcanic sentiments is estimated at 25,189 cubic meters, based on the report of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) as of Sept. 24.
The special permit would also grant the governor the authority to manage the utilization of sand, stone, and moulding stones extracted during the process for rehabilitation and reconstruction projects within La Castellana.
Lacson said that commercial contractors would be required to pay fees to the provincial government for the materials, which is similar to quarry operations but limited to lahar extraction.
The MGB has recommended that stockpiles of lahar deposits at the creek should be removed and transferred to the designated sites to prevent erosion and remobilization of materials during intense rains, which could lead to further accumulation along the Ibid Creek.
Given the recurring flooding and lahar flow events that pose significant risk to residential areas situated near the Ibid Creek, the MGB has strongly recommended that during impending flood events, residents, except disaster response personnel, should not be in the area. | GB
