SOURCE Quarrying of sand is usually done in the middle reaches of Mancatian River in Porac, Pampanga, as seen in this photo taken on Tuesday. —TONETTE T. OREJAS
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Mt. Pinatubo’s sand sourced from Pampanga province continued to be sold at P1,600 per cubic meter to construction projects in Metro Manila, although truck owners and hauling companies have been struggling to cope with higher fuel costs.
The price of sand sieved of pebbles, also called “vibro,” was fixed in August 2022 when haulers reduced their cargo weight to 33 tons on the North Luzon Expressway and on national and local roads, Norman Bengco, president of the Pampanga Truckers Association, told the Inquirer in an interview on Tuesday.
Gov. Dennis Pineda strictly enforced Republic Act No. 8794, or the Anti-Overloading Law, in the province last year to prevent the deterioration of roads and bridges, and to save public funds for repair or rehabilitation.
Bengco said haulers used to sell sand between P550 and P800 per cu. m. (which is about the size of a standard “balikbayan” box) before the COVID-19 pandemic because fuel, toll fees and other operational expenses were lower.
“Now, we are able to maintain the current price of P1,600 because except for fuel, other costs, including tax have been stable. Many of us were also able to reduce maintenance costs of vehicles,” he said.
Surviving competition
Raw sand directly derived from quarry sites in the towns of Porac, Floridablanca, Bacolor and Mabalacat City stood at P250 to P300 per cu. m. as of Tuesday, according to Antonio Ayson, president of the Pampanga Quarry Operators Association.
“The biggest expense for haulers is fuel,” Ayson said. The price per liter of diesel ranges from P61 to P64 per liter and from P63 to P67 per liter of gasoline in this province early this month.Bengco said some members try to sell at lower prices or sell raw sand only (P1,500/cu. m.) to be able to pay amortizations for their trucks.
“But they are warned and advised that the pricing must be uniform so we can all survive the competition,” he said.
The Pampanga provincial government has not increased the rates of the P150 sand tax, P250 administrative fee, charges, fines and penalties, reports from the quarry regulatory unit Kalam showed.
The demand for sand appeared high, and the collection showed to be efficient, as Pineda announced in a statement on Tuesday that collections reached an “all-time and record-high” of P88.2 million in January 2023 alone.