LUCENA CITY?Quarrying in Sariaya, Quezon, continues despite an order issued by Environment Secretary Lito Atienza last week, an environmentalist group said Tuesday.

Lawyer Sheila de Leon, Tanggol Kalikasan-Southern Tagalog (TK-ST) head, said during an inspection Monday of several Sariaya villages, mining operations continued unabated as if there was no order from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

?Though we spotted some heavy equipment being moved out in some quarry sites, apparently in submission to the DENR order, there were still lots of quarry operations going on,? De Leon told the Inquirer.

The inspection team was composed of representatives from TK-ST, Sariaya environment office, DENR-Quezon, Saint Joseph Academy and a local religious organization.

?The quarry operations are much worse today compared to before and after the first moratorium order issued by the DENR in 2004. That?s why we?re skeptical with this new moratorium order,? said De Leon.

The top official of the DENR in the Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) region warned illegal quarry operators in Sariaya that they faced the full force of the law if they didn?t stop the quarrying.

?We?re just completing the composition of the team that would monitor if the quarry operators have complied with Secretary Atienza?s order. As soon as we?re ready, we will swoop down on Sariaya to forcibly stop the mining operations,? said Nilo Tamoria, DENR Calabarzon chief.

On Nov. 13, Atienza ordered a stop to all quarry operations in Sariaya based on complaints from worried residents.

Atienza ordered the creation of a team composed of representatives from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Environmental Management Bureau and DENR?s provincial office in Quezon to make an inventory of quarry operations and prepare an impact assessment report detailing the dangers that these operations bring.

Atienza ordered the team to see if the quarry operators were complying with environmental laws.

De Leon said the group also discovered that quarrying occurs inland and not on riverbeds as mandated by the town flood control program.

Francisco Sevilla Jr., vice chair of the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board, claimed that under the administration of Gov. Rafael Nantes, ?no application for inland quarry is being processed.?