Decor stones quarry site raided

AUTHORITIES inspect a quarry site where “araal,” a dark, brown stone used for landscaping, is being extracted. PHOTO FROM PNP LAGUNA

CAMP PACIANO RIZAL, Laguna—Law enforcers raided a quarry site that sprawled across several hectares on the boundary of Mabitac, Laguna, and Pililla, Rizal, stumbling upon the illegal quarry operations as they acted on a tip that a cache of unlicensed firearms is being kept in the area.

On Tuesday, environment officials returned to the site of the quarry, which falls within the jurisdiction of Barangay (village) Numero in Mabitac, to haul 31 cubic meters of “araal,” dark, brown stones that are used as decorations mainly for landscaping.

Authorities also confiscated at least 15 sacks of charcoal, as well as three rifles and several rounds of ammunition during the initial search of the area conducted on Monday.

Superintendent Kirby Kraft, chief police intelligence officer of Laguna, said villagers reported seeing six-wheel trucks loaded with slabs of stone heading for Manila “for quite some time now.”

“Gunshots were fired to scare away people from getting close to that site,” Kraft said in a telephone interview.

A court in San Pablo City, Laguna, on Jan. 24 issued a search warrant against Benjamin Montealegre, 56, the alleged quarry operator.

Isidro Mercado, Laguna environment officer, said it was the first time that environment officials came across a stone quarry in the province, as what was more rampant was river sand quarrying.

The araal quarry, he said, is being done manually with the use of chisels.

Six quarry workers, one of them a son of Montealegre, were arrested for violating environmental laws. Montealagre himself, however, was nowhere when the law enforcers arrived.

Kraft said the workers came from Iloilo and Masbate provinces  and sought jobs in Laguna. They were paid P500 for every one by one cubic meter of the araal, which they said took at least three days to be extracted, he said.

Isidro said the illegal practice increased risks of landslides in that part of Mabitac town.