Lingayen folk raise concerns over planned Limahong River dredging

THROUGH THE CHANNEL A fishing boat coming from Lingayen Gulf enters the Limahong River Channel and Delta in this photo taken in 2022. The chimney of the Sual Power Plant is visible in the background. —Willie Lomibao

LINGAYEN, PANGASINAN, Philippines — Residents of this town questioned a proposal by the Batangas-based Seagate Engineering and Buildsystems (SEBS) to dredge the historical Limahong River Channel and Delta, which serves as the mouth of the 100-kilometer-long Agno River leading to the Lingayen Gulf.

The river plays an important historic role in the town as it was Chinese pirate Limahong (also known as Ah Hong) who dug the channel to sail their boats toward the South China Sea over 400 years ago to escape from the Spaniards who wanted him repatriated after his failed attempt to take Manila from the Spanish colonial government.

SEBS has proposed a 10-year dredging project, reportedly at no cost to the government, with an estimated expenditure of P18 billion, or P1.8 billion annually.

READ: Zambales folk renew call to stop dredging in their waters

Aldrin Mamaril of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) in the Ilocos region clarified the company applied for “dredging with commercial utilization of dredged materials” under Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2019-5.1.

Misleading?

As part of the process, SEBS is seeking an environmental compliance certificate (ECC), a key requirement to proceed with the project.

The DENR-EMB conducted on Dec. 18 a public scoping session at the Lingayen Civic Center, an early stage of the environmental impact assessment (EIA).

Lingayen Mayor Leopoldo Bataoil stressed that while the local government facilitated the scoping upon the DENR’s request, it remained impartial.

“The Lingayen LGU respects the DENR process. Any applicant must be given due process, but operations must be advantageous to the government,” he said.

SEBS cited two town council resolutions issued in 2021 that expressed no objection to the project, as well as resolutions of no objection from at least 14 barangays.

But Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco accused the company of misleading residents of Lingayen and neighboring Binmaley.

“Based on my inquiries, they [residents] thought it was free. But there’s value in the materials being extracted. There needs to be a discussion about the value of these materials, your projected earnings, and whether the community will benefit from their sale,” Cojuangco said during the public scoping session.

SEBS chief executive officer Leo Campos acknowledged plans to sell the dredged materials for reclamation projects in Manila and other areas at P650 per cubic meter.

The project aims to dredge 985 hectares off coastal villages, addressing heavy siltation that reduces the river’s flood-carrying capacity, with SEBS expecting to take out 46.57 million cubic meters of material.

However, Cojuangco pointed out that a document accompanying the scoping invitation cited a figure of 120 million cubic meters, which, at P650 per cubic meter, SEBS could make a gross income of P78 billion over 10 years.

But Campos said SEBS would incur operational expenses and share taxes with affected barangays, the town, and the province, following a 30-30-40-percent distribution scheme. Affected barangays would receive P12 per cubic meter.

Cojuangco argued the government, which has allocated P300 million for desilting the Limahong River, should manage the dredging instead of relying on a private company. He suggested that the extracted materials be provided free to residents of Lingayen and Binmaley.

Bataoil echoed Cojuangco’s concerns, saying their “views are not different,” even as he stressed that any project along the Limahong River must adhere to DENR guidelines and prioritize the welfare of the community.