Posted on June 16, 2025
CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro – Gov. Humerlito A. Dolor said the proposed large-scale sand-dredging activities in Gloria town are secured with all permits from the appropriate government agencies aside from the necessary environmental assessments and tests that were conducted before its implementation.
The project involves the hauling or extraction of marine sand from the mouth of Balete River that will be used to construct the New Manila International Airport in Bulakan, Bulacan.
Last July 18, the Department of Public Works and Highways-Central Office in Manila issued a dredging clearance to Southern Concrete Industries Inc. that enabled it to dredge in the navigational area of the river of 1.8-million cubic meters of sand.
DENR records showed that an Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) was issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) with the knowledge of the Secretary and has been reviewed by at least five DENR undersecretaries.
Southern Concrete is operated by China Harbour Engineering Co. with address in Malate, Manila.
As part of its information campaign on the project, Dolor initiated the fifth public consultation on Wednesday, June 11, among stakeholders in Sitio Aplaya, Barangay Balete, Gloria, particularly residents who are mostly marginalized fisherfolk that have aired environmental concerns such as threats to livelihood, coastal erosion, and damage to marine habitat.
Dolor said some residents and environmental groups are worried that the project might be a case of sea sand mining disguised as “river dredging.”
The governor said if the DENR or any concerned government agency will categorize it as mining, he will not start the project since mining is banned in the province since 2002.
Large-scale mining will not be allowed until 2052 while small-scale mining ban runs until 2047, said Dolor.
Representatives from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and Environmental Management Bureau of the DENR who were present during the consultation said dredging is not a form of mining since it does not fall under any of the definition enumerated by Republic Act No. 7942 or the Mining Law but by a separate joint memorandum circular from DENR, DPWH, and other agencies.
Dolor said preparations for the project started in 2019 during the time of DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu who issued a department order that served as a guide on environmental policies and conduct of a river dredging project as a lasting solution to massive flooding in the province.
Collaborative meetings between the DENR and other departments, including the impacted local government units, were held even before he was elected as governor in 2019, Dolor said.
“The expenses for flood mitigation projects have reached P24 billion and yet flooding is not yet solved. That’s why we want to resort to dredging since no expenses will be incurred on the part of the provincial government,” Dolor said, adding that the town and the host barangay will also benefit through quarry tax.
Lawyer Earl Turano, provincial legal officer and acting provincial administrator, said that based from their rough estimate, the host barangay will be given P11,253,600 share once dredging starts in the navigational area and P4,680,000 in the river dredging zone.
