THE Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) on Thursday denied that it has been given a government seabed quarry permit in the town of Rosario in Cavite.

In an interview, PRA Assistant General Manager Joseph Literal said that out of the thousands of hectares where the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) gave seabed quarrying permits, only nine thousand hectares are being operated upon by the PRA.

These towns include Tanza, Naic, Ternate, and Maragondon. The town of Rosario is not included in the PRA’s scope of operation, which PRA has been efficiently managing.

Literal said that another company, namely Vil Mining, was given the government seabed quarry permit or GSQP by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the DENR to carry out its dredging operations.

Vil Mining supplies sand to the ongoing reclamation project in Bulacan for the Bulacan International Airport. The municipality of Rosario is under the concession area of Vil Mining.

Further, Literal stressed that the PRA has been extremely cognizant of the needs of the fisherfolk communities residing in their respective concession areas, which include sustainable livelihood assistance to the fishermen.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Edd Reyes