Zamboanga del Sur governor worries as sand, gravel quarries shut down.

Zamboanga del Sur Gov. Victor Yu expressed alarm over the recent closure of at least eight quarry sites in Labangan town saying this would result in shortage of sand and gravel supply for the construction of government's infrastructure projects.

Last week, Labangan Mayor Eduardo Relacion ordered the shut down of quarry operations as part of a crackdown against massive unregulated extraction of sand and gravel along the upstream portion of Labangan River.

Relacion said they started with firms that have no business permit from the local government.The mayor said that of 14 mostly large-scale quarry operations in the town, only about five have business permits.

Those with no permits were operating along the villages of Langapod, Bagalupa, Bucong and part of Tawagan Norte, he said.

The local government's crackdown on quarry operations is an offshoot of a protest action by communities lying along the river that have experienced floods, destruction of houses and farms especially during heavy rains.

The residents blame these to the supposedly unsustainable rate of extraction of sand and gravel, mostly supplied to contractors of government infrastructure projects.

Moratorium needed

Subanen leader Braulio Anlimon said they are asking the government to impose a five-year moratorium on quarrying along Labangan River to give it enough time to heal its...