Gwen to town officials: Monitor coal operators

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has asked the town mayors to closely monitor coal operators in their town.

This developed after only five out of 23 coal operators in Cebu province attended and signed an agreement with the Capitol on the implementation of the load limit on the loading and hauling of coal.

Garcia got irked by the noncooperation of the 18 other operators.

“I thought that we would meet here. We are persons who agreed to meet here because we are in Cebu. We are making money out of the resources in Cebu. This is why  I have fully believed man or woman will agree and make this work,” she said in her speech yesterday.

Garcia instructed that the 18 operators be identified.

A notification will be sent to the mayors of the towns where they are operating.

Under the agreement, coal operators are only allowed a maximum load limit at 16 tons similar to that of sand and gravel haulers.

If the 18 operators will violate the agreement, Garcia said that Capitol will recommend for the nonrenewal of their business permits.

The agreement also stipulates that the trucks hauling coal will bear the marks, “For Coal Hauling Use Only.” Trucks will not be allowed to load nor haul coal without the markings.

The Department of Energy (DOE) – Visayas Field Office shall also coordinate with Capitol for the monitoring, implementation and enforcement of coal load limit.

Garcia, Department of Energy in Central Visayas Chief Antonio Labios and the representatives of the five coal operators signed the load limit agreement.

Operators who were present during the signing were SKI Construction Group, Raul Sanchez SCCMP, Virgilio Cantilla Jr., Forum Cebu Coal Corp., and Adlaon Energy Development Corp. /Carmel Loise Matus, Correspondent