LEGAZPI CITY – The provincial government of Albay imposes regulations that started on Thursday on the use of barangay, municipal, and provincial roads by trucks carrying quarry products.
The order was posted Friday on Governor Noel Rosal’s social media that requires only 10-wheeler trucks and below carrying quarry resources shall be allowed to use barangay, municipal and provincial roads in the province.
Based on Rosal’s Executive Order No.34 signed on Thursday, the capacity of barangay, municipal, city, and provincial roads depends on the purpose for which it was constructed.
“Barangay, municipal, and city roads can be utilized only, with the prior recommendation from the Albay Provincial Engineer’s Office (PEO), which load capacity can withstand the weight of the ten-wheeler trucks and its use shall only be limited to those trucks carrying cargo within the road’s load capacity,” the order added.
The PEO shall release a recommendation to the local government units of the province after its assessment and evaluation of the road’s load capacity to serve as a route and guide for the implementation of the provisions of the order.
The order also said that heavily loaded trucks carrying quarry resources plying barangay, municipal, city, and provincial roads in the province resulted in irreparable damage to the roads that were not designed to handle heavy loads incurring the high cost of maintenance and rehabilitation.
Violators of the order shall cause the cancellation and revocation of permits.
Earlier, Rosal also issued EO No. 29 adjusting the fair market value (FMV) of ordinary stones, sand, gravel, earth, and other quarry resources in the province; and EO No. 30 that fixes the delivery rates of aggregates for ordinary stones including sand, gravel, earth and other quarry resources.
The price of sand was reduced to PHP250 per cubic meter (CuM) based on the E0 29 when used inside the territorial jurisdiction of Albay compared to PHP500 per CuM collected during the previous administration.
In an interview on Friday, Rosal said he decided to reduce the fair market value of quarry materials being hauled in the province so that Albayanos could benefit from lower costs of these aggregate sourced out from Mayon Volcano.
“I am also allowing residents to haul for free quarry materials not exceeding two cubic meters at a given time,” Rosal said.
He added that all the quarry operators should comply first their necessary requirements before they can operate, such as the environmental compliance certificates that include location clearance, status clearance, business permits, and the certification from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to make sure the quarry site is one-kilometer away from any government infrastructure.
“I will not tolerate operating the quarry operators without a permit, expired permit, and exceeded the volume of quarried materials,” Rosal added. (PNA)
