Last week, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, via a two-thirds vote, passed a resolution overriding the governor’s veto of an ordinance amending certain provisions of the Revised Quarry Ordinance.
Based on the list provided to participants in the Jan. 23, 2026 public hearing, the amendments involved six provisions in the old measure: Section 7(b) of Article V. clarifying the requirement of area clearance from concerned agencies and local government units; Sec. 11 of Art. V, prohibiting the extraction of materials within one-kilometer radius from a tourist spot; deletion of Sec. 3, Art. VIIl; Sec. 4, Art, VIII, renumbering a similar provision and adding a provision on the load capacity of trucks; Sec. 5 of Art. X, renumbering a similar provision, deleting the Ore Transport Permit (Entry Fee) of P500 per cubic meter for aggregates from outside the province, and replacing it with an Aggregates Import Clearance Fee of P1,000; Sec. 6, Art. XI renumbered and Sec. 1 amended on the Transport of Minerals and Aggregates; and, Sec. 7, Art. XII renumbered, and Sec. 5 on Administrative Adjudication, amended.
In his veto message dated March 24, 2026, Gov. Patrick Alain T. Azanza said he was constrained to veto the proposed Provincial Ordinance No. 007-2026 on the following grounds: the amendments to Sec. 10, 16 and 18 unduly delimits the authority of the governor by delegating to the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board the powers to release the permit, approve the transfer of assignment of quarry permits, and effect the cancellation of such permits; the classification of quarry resources coming from outside the province as “goods and resources”; and the designation of the SP Committee on Infrastructure as the Inter Provincial Quarry Accreditation Committee, with the power to accredit the seller of quarry resources from outside the province as a pre-condition for their transport to the island.
After the Holy Week break, the SP, via a 9-1 vote, rejected the governor’s veto, stating that it is not supported by law and that it must be overridden on the grounds that the ordinance was enacted within the power of the provincial board and not contrary to existing laws, rules and regulations.
At a glance, the amendments of the provisions on area clearance, prohibition on quarry extraction in areas a kilometer from a tourist spot, and the load capacity of trucks would not incite opposition.
On the Ore Transport Permit, which was inserted in the last revision of the quarry ordinance, its removal is likely in reaction to the governor’s ‘strict’ implementation of the quarry ordinance, or in the words of his critics, limiting the issuance of quarry permits to political allies.
The P500 entry fee was allegedly approved by the past board to block contractors identified with Cong. Eulogio R. Rodriguez from bringing in aggregates from Albay.
With the sitting administration starving its ‘enemy’ contractors of quarry resources, the repeal of the hefty entry fee of P500 per cubic meter is supposed to level the playing field, so to speak.
But what is interesting is that a review of the Jan. 23, 2026 public hearing documents would show that the amendments to Sec. 10, 16 and 18, which Azanza described as “ultra vires” or beyond the SP’s authority, were missing from the list of proposed amendments provided to the participants in the hearing.
That is probably why not one of them, even Provincial Administrator Atty. Evelyn L. Gutierrez and Provincial ENRO officer-in-charge Neil del Valle, raised an objection over the three amendments that would infringe on the power of the governor to grant, cancel, revoke and approve the transfer or assignment of quarry permits.
With the SP’s override, the Azanza administration is expected to resort to legal action to block the questioned amendments to the quarry ordinance.
If it fails to do so, then the SP’s Committee on Infrastructure, which is tasked to review all things related to planning, construction, maintenance and improvement of public infrastructure, will gladly take on the ‘juicy’ responsibility of approving the transfer of quarry permits from the permittee to another person or entity.