The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said it will close down and cancel the permit of the quarry operator that was reportedly encroaching into the Masungi Geopark in Baras, Rizal.
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said apart from closure, the agency will issue a notice of violation to Rapid City Realty and Development Corp., operator of the quarry, after he verified reports that a quarter of the 2,000-hectare ecotourism and conservation site was fenced off.
Notably, the mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA) of the company was granted by the DENR in 1998 and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) is now looking into it.
The contract has a validity of 25 years from the year it was granted. It is nearing its expiration but is still subject for renewal.
“This is a watershed and also a protected area. We have already identified this as a protected area and these mining companies are within the protected area… The company’s MPSA is due for renewal that’s why it is expanding. I’m sure it would seek for extension of the MPSA but I will not allow anymore extension here,” the DENR chief said.
“In fact, I’m even considering a closure of this MPSA. There is no such thing that we will allow a mining company either metallic or non-metallic to have mining operations in this area,” Cimatu added.
He also ordered to fast track the establishment of a satellite office in Masungi Geopark to protect the nature park and its surrounding area.
The MGB is set to scrutinize the MPSAs of two other quarrying firms, Quarry Rock Group Inc. and Quimson Limestone Inc., which are operating within the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape using the MPSAs they secured in the late 1990s.
