Group says China mining firms destroying coasts

GONZAGA, Cagayan—Residents of this coastal town have assailed government for failing to stop widespread mining activities here by three Chinese and Taiwanese firms, despite findings of supposed irregularities in their operations.

Esperlita Garcia, head of the Gonzaga Alliance for Environmental Protection and Preservation (GAEPP), accused regional officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and town and provincial governments, of being responsible for the destruction of Gonzaga’s beaches, which are rich in magnetite sand (black sand).

“This is getting so hopeless because it is our government that is not doing anything while our environment is getting devastated,” she said.

She said GAEPP officers and lawyers were studying the filing of a complaint against officials of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) in Cagayan Valley for their failure to enforce an order issued by lawyer Ernesto Adobo Jr., DENR undersecretary for field operations, to stop the mining operations.

“Because we can no longer expect any help from these agencies, we have decided to step up our battle. We will now go to the Supreme Court,” she said.

GAEPP said mining operations continued despite Adobo’s April 29 memorandum directing EMB and MGB to suspend the operations of Huaxia Mining and Trading Corp. and Lian Xing Stone Carving Corp. due to several violations.

Huaxia and Lian Xing are two of three Chinese firms that have been granted small-scale mining permits by Gov. Alvaro Antonio to extract black sand on the shores of at least six coastal villages in Gonzaga.

Magnetite is a black iron oxide mineral that is often mined as an ore of iron, and commonly used as additive for concrete.

Carlos Magno, EMB Cagayan Valley director, said his office had sent notices to both firms, which had corrected the violations.

Mario Ancheta, officer in charge of the regional MGB, said he has yet to receive a copy of the April 29 directive.

The extraction and processing of magnetite sand were in full scale when the Inquirer visited the mining sites on Friday.

Heavy equipment, like backhoes, heavy trucks and loaders were seen operating in the site.

Adobo confirmed the complaints raised by GAEPP, which said magnetite sand was being “illegally quarried from the area” and the operations were destroying the town’s coast and polluting its water.

“The processes in the coastal zone are very dynamic and the sediment and groundwater extractions may result in an irreversible damage,” Adobo said in a three-page memorandum.

Garcia said the firms’ environmental clearance certificate prohibits diggings 200 meters from the highest tide of the sea. Extraction must also be done through manual labor, not with the use of heavy equipment.

Huaxia officials denied committing any violation. “If violations were found, that must have been by other companies,” said Ben Jiang, Huaxia spokesperson.

Gonzaga Vice Mayor Rene Salvanera defended the mining operations, saying the benefits outweighed what he said were inconveniences. “We have always been vigilant,” said Salvanera.