APO Cement concerned over unclear gov't plans in Naga landslide

APO Cement Corp.  has raised concerns over the "continuing absence of clarity" in the government's plans on the suspension of quarrying operations in Naga City, Cebu following a landslide in the area.

In an emailed statement, APO Cement said it has been nearly two months since the government suspended quarrying operations of the APO Land & Quarry Corp. (ALQC) in Naga City.

ALQC is one of the principal suppliers of APO Cement Corp., a subsidiary of Cemex Holdings which has quarrying activities in the city.

"APO Cement is increasingly concerned of the continuing absence of clarity in the government’s program of action in mitigating the existing hazards in the landslide area, even after the conclusive findings of experts from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) which declared that the landslide was a natural phenomenon," the company said.

It was referring to the landslide that struck Barangay Naalad and Sitio Sindulan in Barangay Tinaan, Naga City, Cebu on September 20 this year.

The government, through the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), has since suspended quarrying operations in Naga, Cebu.

"Given the current situation, APO Cement is now constrained to implement the temporary lay-off of up to about 30 percent of its employees and a reduction of around 40 percent of its contractors," APO said.

According to the company, it is currently sourcing its materials from different parts of the country and overseas, which it said is putting "significant cost pressures" to operations.

"APO Cement has been in Cebu for nearly a century, we have fostered our solidarity and malasakit to our communities for several decades now, but these are extremely challenging times and we need to make these hard decisions," said APO spokesperson Chito Maniago.

Looking ahead, APO said it was hopeful that quarrying operations in Naga would be allowed to resume . — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/ LDF, GMA News