ILOILO — A crackdown on illegal quarrying operations across Iloilo province resulted in the seizure of nine dump trucks in a series of coordinated police operations on February 28, underscoring authorities’ intensified campaign to stop the unauthorized extraction and transport of quarry materials.
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., police units from three municipalities intercepted trucks suspected of transporting quarry materials without proper documentation, with investigators finding incomplete papers, misdeclared entries, and the absence of required delivery receipts.
The operation was spearheaded by the Barotac Nuevo Municipal Police Station (MPS) led by Police Captain Jersey Besas, officer-in-charge.
At around 10 a.m., officers carried out an operation in Barangay Tabucan, Barotac Nuevo, seizing one Sino truck, two Shacman trucks, and two Howo trucks.
The enforcement drive continued in Tigbauan at about 1:30 p.m., where personnel of the Tigbauan MPS under Police Captain Alfred Mansoy apprehended two more Sino trucks in Barangay 3, Poblacion.
Barely an hour later, the Cabatuan MPS led by Police Captain Mary Dhen Gerbolinga intercepted two additional Sino trucks along the Bypass Road in Barangay Leong, Cabatuan.
Police said the vehicles were found to be operating with incomplete documentation, misdeclared entries, and without the required delivery receipts, violations that constitute illegal quarry transport under provincial regulations.
The seized vehicles were temporarily impounded at their respective police stations pending further legal proceedings against their operators.
Authorities said the operators face possible charges under Provincial Ordinance 2017-145, which governs and regulates quarrying activities in Iloilo.
The Iloilo Police Provincial Office, headed by Police Colonel Bayani Razalan, provincial director, said the coordinated operations form part of a continuing campaign to curb illegal quarrying and protect the province’s natural resources.
Officials stressed that intensified monitoring and enforcement will continue as authorities move to safeguard Iloilo’s environment from the long-term damage caused by illegal extraction activities./PN
