EDITORIAL - Lesson we all learned from the Naga incident

The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) has lifted the ban on small-scale quarry operations across Cebu Province, more than a month following the massive landslide in Naga City that killed scores of people.

However, the ban on those in Naga City and Carmen town will continue as experts are still assessing the quarry sites in these areas. PENRO chief Jayson Lozano said technical opinion is still needed in lifting the ban.

Naga City Mayor Kristine Vanessa Chiong earlier asked the authorities not to lift yet the ban, which immediately took effect after the deadly landslide near a quarry site that claimed more than 70 lives in September.

In the town of Carmen, cracks were discovered at a quarry site that prompted PENRO to continue with the ban. According to the agency, corrective measures must be put in place before the ban can be lifted. 

As small-scale quarry operations in other areas resume following the lifting of the ban, concerned government agencies and local government units should also start to intensify their monitoring of these quarry sites.

Just because their quarry operations have already resumed does not necessarily mean operators have already established corrective measures that would prevent another Naga City incident.

Monitoring should continue despite the lifting of the ban. And authorities should even heighten their monitoring to determine whether or not quarry operators have complied with all the regulations and put in place preventive measures.

It is really better to take precautionary measures than to scramble for solution to the lapses after disasters, just like what authorities did in the aftermath of the Naga City landslide. The obvious lesson we learned from the Naga incident is the importance of a swift response the moment signs of an impending disaster are being written on the wall.