By Christopher Hedreyda
CALAMBA CITY, Laguna—Officials in Laguna have sounded the alarm bells on the worsening floods in parts of Calamba City with residents attributing a recent flashflood on alleged quarrying on the protected slopes of Mt. Makiling.
On Saturday, July 12, Facebook accounts of netizens and local government responders showed footage of severe flooding and muddy floodwaters in Barangay Pansol in Calamba after a heavy downpour causing a heavy gridlock along the Maharlika Highway for hours.
Residents were quick to blame the flooding on alleged quarrying activities that had cleared a section of Mt Makiling of trees.
Calamba City Representative Charisse Anne Hernandez-Alcantara immediately convened an emergency meeting with representatives of the Department of Public Works and Highways and other agencies on July 14 and discussed possible solutions to the flooding.
“We know the situation. Floods are getting worse, the risks to our communities are increasing. Cutting of trees and construction of structures on the mountain continue,” Hernandez said in her Facebook post.
She added: “But it’s also clear, we can do something. There are solutions. We can fix this.”
She acknowledged that policies for environmental preservation already exist even as she urged swift actions to ensure community safety.
“Policies already exist, but strict enforcement and updates are needed to meet today’s challenges. It’s not too late. We can still protect Mt. Makiling for the safety of our communities and the future of Calamba,” she said.
Subsequently, Hernandez filed a resolution at the House of Representatives calling agencies namely the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and the DPWH to revisit the measures meant to protect Mt. Makiling.
The Mount Makiling Forest Reserve, a national park and an ASEAN Heritage Park, is home to a variety of ecosystems and species. It boasts rich biological diversity, including endemic, indigenous, and introduced exotic species.
As a protected area, conservation efforts are in place to safeguard its ecosystems and biodiversity.
Calamba City Mayor Roseller Rizal recently convened a meeting with the DPWH to discuss the city’s development projects and comprehensive plans.
Rizal also ordered the suspension of a subdivision development in Brgy. Pansol and a moratorium on development activities on the mountainous areas of Barangays Pansol, Bucal, and Bagong Kalsada.
He directed the city government to remove illegal structures along drainage waterways and desilt creeks and rivers.
“We have strengthened our directives – from the processes of business permits, strengthening of flood control systems, more effective traffic management, up to the improvement of city waste management,” Rizal added in a statement.
Meanwhile, DENR CALABARZON Regional Executive Director Nilo Tamoria clarified that social media posts showing quarrying was conducted on a private property outside of the Makiling forest reserve.
“We want to clarify that there is no quarrying activity on Mt. Makiling. The post circulating on social media concerns a private, titled land with a subdivision project, located outside the Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve,” Tamoria said in a social media statement.
He explained in an interview with the Philippine Information Agency CALABARZON that some quarrying activities fall under the jurisdiction of local government units with DENR supervision.
“The big-scale operations are under the jurisdiction of the DENR through the Mines and Geosciences Bureau. However, small-scale operations (conducted in areas five hectares and below) are the responsibility of the local government, through the issuance of Governor permits,” Tamoria said.
He added the DENR continues to assess which quarrying sites may be granted permits and regularly monitors permitted sites to ensure compliance with DENR-MGB policies and regulations.
“Through our coordination with other law enforcement agencies, we actively respond to reports. Our field offices conduct operations with the help of other law enforcement agencies,” he said.
Tamoria assured the public that quarrying and mining activities are regularly evaluated by multipartite monitoring teams formed by the DENR to ensure compliance with environmental standards.
“The balanced use and proper extraction levels of quarry materials are monitored and regulated by the DENR through various inter-agency formations or multipartite monitoring teams. These are included as conditions when mining and quarrying permits are granted,” Tamoria explained.
The DENR director emphasized that while flooding is a natural disaster exacerbated by climate change and urban growth, solutions are in place. These include expanding the National Greening Program, constructing check dams and water impounding projects to slow mountain runoff, and stricter enforcement of requirements for Environmental Compliance Certificates to ensure flood risks are addressed in development projects. (
