In Pangasinan, gold panning sustains life along riverside community

SAN JACINTO, Pangasinan—While everyone dreads typhoons for the damage these cause, villagers who earn a living by panning gold in rivers here anticipate them.

For these residents, there is indeed money in gold panning, but even more when the rains are heavy and the rivers swell.

Brothers Jose and Dominador Abril said gold panning (panag-sayyo in Pangasinan) has always been their families’ primary source of income all year round.

Jose, 44, and Dominador, 30, both started gold panning in their teens when their father and other men in the village asked them to tag along and help them.

“The elders taught us, and we teach the next generation of men in the family,” said Hermenejerdo Estareja, 52, who has been panning for gold since his teens.

Other villagers in San Vicente, Macayug and Bolo seek gold dusts or “balitok” from rivers that pass this town, including the Bued River which emanates from Benguet, where mining companies operate.

“We always get more gold dust after the storm, because the strong rains make the river current stronger, making more minerals, such as gold, to be

carried downstream,” said Romy Ocomon, 43.

Each of them earns between P3,000 and P5,000 weekly on ordinary days,  including summer, and more during the rainy season.

In fact, when Tropical Storm “Ondoy” and Typhoon “Pepeng” struck Pangasinan in 2009, the Abril brothers said one of them earned up to P55,000 in a week while the other earned P35,000 in just three days of gold panning.

Residents earn about P1,800 for every gram of gold dust that they place in vials.

Dominador said a full vial of gold dust may cost up to hundreds of thousands of pesos.

However, gold panners here could not store much because they sell their gold dusts twice a week so they could have cash for their families’ daily expenses.

Their regular buyers include pawnshop owners and jewelers from Mangaldan and Manaoag towns and Dagupan City. During the rainy season, buyers from Metro Manila and Baguio City also come here.

“We find it interesting that  Baguio businessmen buy the gold that came from their mountains in the first place,” said Jerry Navarete, 46.

Aside from gold panning, residents in San Jacinto also tend vegetable gardens.

Ocomon said that most men in the town tried working as carpenters and construction workers, but the little income and difficult work conditions made them return to gold panning.

“[In construction work], you have to work for a number of hours to earn just P200 to P300 at the end of the day. The work is tedious and you also have to endure your boss’ demands and temper. But in gold panning, you are your own boss, and of course, you earn more money,” said Ocomon.

“We are relatives and neighbors who grew up together, and gold panning is more like a lucrative hobby for us,” Ocomon added.

Carlos Tayag, Mines and Geosciences Bureau director in the Ilocos, said gold panning does not pose any danger to the environment.

“People engaged in such livelihood only use natural procedures. They get fresh gold. No chemicals are involved in trying to gather gold dust,” Tayag said.  Marla Viray, Inquirer Northern Luzon