End Mayon quarry now or face Cebu’s tragedy - Albay residents

By Manly M. Ugalde

LEGAZPI CITY --- “Stop Mayon quarrying now, or face the same catastrophic fate suffered by Cebu during Typhoon Tino on November 4.”

This is the resounding clamor of Albay residents following the devastation in Cebu, where Typhoon Tino toppled cities and towns to the ground, causing massive floods attributed to environmental degradation. Houses and vehicles were swept away—an unprecedented disaster that claimed more than 200 lives. To make matters worse, an earlier 6.9-magnitude earthquake had already damaged over 65,000 homes in Cebu.

Cebu’s tragedy has been widely described as the result of graft and corruption, with blame pointed at national and local officials, including lawmakers and Malacañang insiders.

Albay residents fear history could repeat itself. The province, composed of three congressional districts, experienced a similar tragedy during Typhoon Reming in 2006, when a rampaging lahar flow from Mayon Volcano claimed nearly 2,000 lives—second only to Tacloban’s 6,000-plus casualties during Typhoon Yolanda in 2013.

This happened despite the much-publicized ₱2-billion Mayon Dredging Project and the ₱2-billion JICA-funded Mayon Sabo Works, designed to contain lahar flows through the construction of numerous sabo dams. “Sabo,” meaning gravel and sand, referred to flood-control structures meant to prevent lahar from cascading down Mayon’s slopes. However, alleged corruption within the DPWH rendered these projects useless.

Now, with indiscriminate quarrying around Mayon and road construction within the seven-kilometer danger zone, residents fear an unprecedented disaster—worse than that of 2006. Typhoon Reming occurred when quarry operations were still limited to local traders. Massive commercial quarrying began only eight years ago after a provincial ordinance allowed unrestricted commercial extraction, supplying gravel and sand across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao for revenue purposes.

Today, close to 200 quarry concessionaires, excluding unregistered subcontractors allegedly tolerated by corrupt officials, operate even within the danger zone. Gigantic pits and mountain-sized stockpiles of gravel and sand dot the volcano’s slopes, raising fears of avalanches during heavy rainfall. This was lamented by retired bankers Ramon Alamares Uy and Armando Jaylo Uy of Legazpi City.

Bishop Joel Baylon of the Diocese of Legazpi has publicly condemned the quarrying activities, warning of their severe environmental impact.

Amid corruption allegations surrounding the provincial quarry operations, Governor Noel Rosal ordered a three-month suspension.

Still, the Save Mayon Movement, composed of Mayon climbers led by Cesar Banares of Bacacay, warns that quarrying and road construction have already caused serious damage to Mayon’s natural beauty and ecology. These road projects, which began in 2017, cut through protected trees and forest areas in Legazpi, Sto. Domingo, Bacacay, Malilipot, and Tabaco City.

The ₱7-billion Mayon Circumferential Road Project, reportedly initiated through Ako Bicol Party-list, was exposed by the Save Mayon Movement through the BusinessMirror.

The Albay Provincial Board, through the Committee on Urban and Land Use chaired by then Board Member Howard Imperial, launched an investigation in 2017. The inquiry resulted in a unanimous resolution banning all road construction around Mayon, citing risks of increased habitation within the six-kilometer permanent danger zone—an area the government has struggled to clear since the Ramos administration despite existing relocation sites in Legazpi and Daraga.

The resolution further warned that road projects could jeopardize Mayon’s candidacy for inclusion in UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

“What happened to that resolution? Only the DPWH knows,” Imperial said.

Concerned Albayanos are now urging the provincial government not to ignore the threat of another lahar catastrophe—a disaster that could result from eight years of uncontrolled quarrying in exchange for millions in tax revenues.

They say Albay was fortunate that Typhoon Uwan did not bring intense rainfall like Typhoon Reming did in 2006. But unless decisive action is taken, the next typhoon could trigger the tragedy they all fear.