Ethical dilemma

Recently, Mr. Rodolfo "RJ" Javellana Jr., the founder and president of United Filipino Consumers and Commuters Inc., wrote a letter to President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. seeking his intervention in the alleged inaction of local government officials of Zamboanga.

According to the letter, the problem of the restoration of the Labangan River had already been brought to the attention of local officials, both in the province of Zamboanga del Sur and the municipality of Labangan. However, as of his writing, the local governments still need to act on the people's cry for the restoration of the Labangan River.

The inaction has left Mr. Javellana with no choice but to raise the concern at the national level.

Mr. Javellana, who is also the secretary-general of Luntiang Pilipinas, said his group is in solidarity with the indigenous peoples of Zamboanga del Sur, particularly the claimants to the Labangan-Pagadian-Sominot ancestral domain, in their fight to restore the ecology of the river.

The river has been subjected to quarrying operations for the last 50 years, being the primary source of aggregates for the construction industry, especially in nearby Pagadian City.

Due to the mostly mechanized and large-scale sand and gravel extraction upstream, many parts of the Labangan River, particularly downstream communities, are experiencing soil erosion.

Even the spillway in Barangay Langapod that used to ease the transport of agricultural produce from the communities has collapsed due to the quarrying operations nearby.

This has cut off the village and other hinterland communities of Pagadian City from the market centers.

Roads were also heavily damaged by the regular passage of large hauling trucks and excavation equipment.

The tribe leader said he lauds Labangan Mayor Eduardo Relacion for his commitment to stop the quarrying operation run by his own family. The mayor has vowed to meet with his legal team and the Sangguniang Bayan members to discuss how they can address the situation.

More needs to be done because the continued inaction of the provincial government is threatening the lives and livelihood of our countrymen in Labangan. This may be attributed to these officials having their own stake in the quarrying operations.

This is why the NGO calls on President Marcos to hold those responsible for the environmental degradation caused by irresponsible quarrying operations accountable.

They also seek that an independent investigating body be formed to investigate allegations of direct involvement by local officials, particularly Zamboanga del Sur Gov. Victor Yu, in the massive unregulated extraction of sand and gravel in the upstream portion of Labangan River — which would explain their lack of response to the demands of their constituents whom they have sworn to protect.

Most of the companies quarrying in the area have no business permits from the local government.

Mayor Relacion said that of the 14 mostly large-scale quarrying operations, only about five have business permits. Those with no permits operate in Langapod, Bagalupa, Bucong, and part of Tawagan Norte.

The sand and gravel are mostly supplied to contractors of government infrastructure projects. Most of the quarry operations that were shut down had links to Yu, a claim the governor readily admitted.

The governor's defense — that it was natural for his family to maintain quarry operations as they had long been engaged in the construction business even before they entered politics — is unacceptable.

The people of Labangan are demanding a five-year moratorium on quarrying to allow for the restoration of the Labangan River.

They hope the national government will give the river's ecological system enough time to heal. They are looking forward to the prompt and appropriate actions to be taken by the government on behalf of the indigenous people of Zamboanga del Sur, who have suffered so much.

The Philippine government can get a hint of the importance of environmentalism today from the agreement signed between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the US Environmental Protection Agency, which aims to boost bilateral cooperation for environmental and human health protection.