ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

POSITION PAPER
ENVIRONMENTALIST AND RELIGIOUS GROUP
AGAINST THE QUARRYING
Submitted to:

Atty. Joan Saniel Amit

Submitted by​:

Adolfo, Adolph

Dondoyano, Dianne

Judilla, Mayflor

Sanchez, Henna

EH409; Wednesday (7:30 – 8:30 PM) Saturday (2:30 – 4:30PM)

 As members of ​Bukid Noon and Batoon Balani​, we strongly oppose the project proposed
by the Universal Cement Corporation for various environmental and religious reasons.

First of all, we are all stewards of God's creation. The Almighty Father created us human
beings in order to take care of His creations, including nature and the environment. As stated in
Genesis 2:15, "the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and
keep it". The proposed project will certainly cause harm to the seas and all the aquatic
resources our coastal barangay is blessed with. God placed us in Barangay Batoon- we were
born and raised here. Ever since, we have been blessed with food from the seas. In return, we
have the obligation to preserve all these natural resources and make sure that generations to
come would have all the resources they would need for their survival and development.
Furthermore, the rapid urbanization of our barangay would only lead to sins and vices.
Eventually, pubs and bars will take over our community. It is necessary for our spiritual health to
keep our modest barangay as it is.

As such, we ​have organized ourselves as a group with an advocacy of promoting

sustainable developmen​t. Our group believes that how we develop today should not prejudice
the rights of the future generation to enjoy our planet's resources. There is nothing sustainable
about the proposed project. Research shows that emissions from Cement manufacturing are
one of the major contributors in global warming and climate change. If anything, it could only
worsen air, water, and land pollution. To make things worse, the cement plant would only
increase our carbon emissions thereby increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere and triggering further climate change. Actually, this industrial sector is thought to
represent 5–7% of the total CO2 anthropogenic emissions.

At this point, it is undeniable that we are experiencing ​climate change in several forms.
In some regions in the world, drastic changes in weather conditions are being experienced.
Calamities have become intense and have caused more destruction. An increase in
temperature levels is felt around the world and is evidenced by the melting of ice caps thereby
resulting to rising sea levels. This is partly attributable to the ever-increasing levels of
greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), among
others. If we allow this cement plant, we would indirectly facilitate our own destruction, given the
fact that we live near the coasts which make us more vulnerable to the harsh effects of
calamities.

On the issue of ​water pollution, cement plants undeniably generate a significant amount
of wastes. If without proper handling and disposal of wastes, what the cement generates would
affect the surrounding waters of our barangay. Factories and plants have a history of
irresponsible dumping of their wastes to our waters. This practice has caused the death of seas,
rivers, and lakes, and the ecosystems thriving in them. This we cannot allow for Barangay
Batoon.
Air pollution is another harmful effect we seek to prevent. Smoke released into the air as a result
of plant activities could cause nothing but health problems to us, residents. The result of these
activities is not only deteriorating air quality but also degrading human health. Emissions have
local and global environmental impact resulting in global warming, ozone depletion, acid rain,
biodiversity loss, reduced crop productivity, etc. Scientific evidence indicates that air pollution
from the combustion of fossil fuels causes a spectrum of health effects from just a simple allergy
to death. There are several studies conducted which showed that these emissions are
adversely affecting human health in a variety of ways: like itchy eyes, respiratory diseases like
tuberculosis, chest discomfort, chronic bronchitis, asthma attacks, cardio-vascular diseases and
even premature death. Moreover, ​long-term cement dust exposure and inhalation causes
respiratory complications due to epithelial tissue damage and that can lead to secondary
complications as well. We are proud to say that our barangay's air quality is generally better
than other nearby barangays. Our barangay has ​recorded only 1 case of respiratory disease for
the last ten years. This is just a testament of how clean our community is. ​We may not be as
economically developed as other barangays and cities, but our priority is the maintenance of a
clean and healthy environment.

Our neighboring barangay, ​Brgy. Bukid, is of concern to us​. The proposal shows that the
limestone to be used for the cement will be sourced from their mountains. Quarry sites will be
established to maintain the operations of the plant. This leads to the rape of the mountains of
Brgy. Bukid. Several forests will be affected by the plant's future activities. Deforestation will
surely be a problem. A consequence of deforestation would be landslides and other calamities.
An example that we should learn from was the incident that happened in a barangay in the City
of Naga, Cebu where a portion of the mountains where a quarry site was located collapsed.
This incident led to deaths, injuries, and loss of property. Brgy. Bukid boasts of its greens. Trees
are there to preserve air quality and to hold the lands. They should not be indiscriminately cut
down.

Quarry sites would also cause ​land pollution and further result to water contamination.
Not only that, quarry sites produce noise pollution because of the activities that are to be
performed probably on a daily basis. This would cause harm to biodiversity thriving in the
mountains of Brgy. Bukid which would result to disruption in the dynamics of the ecosystem.
Noise pollution could also cause serious health problems to the residents in the nearby quarry
sites.

For these reasons and more, we oppose the establishment of Universal Cement
Corporation's Cement Plant and their quarry sites. As religious and environmental advocates,
we believe that it is our duty to God and to the future generations to protect the environment and
our community.