BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—Residents of a coastal community in Gonzaga, Cagayan, have been barricading the village road in what they described as a desperate move to stop the mining activities of Chinese firms in their area.
Since Monday night, residents of Calayan village have been holding vigil and have been stopping dump trucks hauling black sand to the processing plant of Huaxia Mining and Trading Corp.
Huaxia is one of four firms that were granted small-scale mining permits by the Cagayan government. These firms continue to operate in 20 of the town’s 25 villages, despite legal questions and alleged violations cited by environment groups and Gonzaga residents.
“Women sat at the middle of the road, sharing stories, while the men also huddled nearby. We are determined to do this all night for as long it takes. We have been losing sleep every night, anyway,” resident Imelda Genita told the Inquirer by telephone.
On Monday night, she said tension rose after villagers faced off with truck drivers who were insisting on getting past the barricade, prompting policemen to rush to the area.
The tension subsided after village officials intervened and drew a commitment from Huaxia personnel for them to stop their late night and early morning operations.
“But they did not comply with their promise and went on with their activities. So we went back [on Tuesday night],” said Genita, the residents’ spokesperson.
Villagers have long been complaining of the disturbance and health risks posed by the mining firms’ round-the-clock operations, with trucks roaring past neighborhoods even at night and whipping up dirty air from dust falling from their cargo.
Mario Ancheta, director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau in Cagayan Valley, said he has yet to check details of the antimining barricades.
Gonzaga Mayor Carlito Pentecostes said he has ordered the local police to intervene should Huaxia refuse to suspend its night operations.
“I have warned [Huaxia officials] to comply with our agreement that they should stop their operations from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m., and they agreed. But it turns out that they are doing a different thing in my absence,” Pentecostes said by telephone.
Calayan residents have been carrying the brunt of black sand mining operations in Gonzaga, the group said, because the truckloads of sand Huaxia extracts from mining sites located in other villages have to be hauled to its plant there.
Senior Supt. Mao Aplasca, Cagayan police director, said he has instructed members of the Gonzaga police to maintain peace and order in the area and provide village officials support in their efforts to settle the problem through a dialogue.
Religious and civil society groups have been assailing the ongoing black sand mining activities in Gonzaga and other Cagayan towns.
They said government regulatory agencies have been helpless against violations committed by the companies in their operations, such as their extensive use of heavy equipment, and their extraction of magnetite sand from areas not covered by permits.
Calayan residents said their latest move was part of their response to a call from Tuguegarao Archbishop Sergio Utleg for lay leaders to “mobilize our people to manifest their opposition to mining through demonstrations, court actions [and] prayer rallies, and to join environment groups in preserving the integrity of [God’s] creation.”