Posted on July 12, 2023
The sands that would be removed from the dredging activities in the rivers of this town will be used in the reclamation projects in Manila Bay, the mayor of this town said.
In a press conference before his State of the Municipality Address on Tuesday, July 4, Baco Mayor Allan Roldan said that an applicant for the massive river restoration and dredging project of the provincial government of Oriental Mindoro has sought an audience with him and the heads of the barangay covered by the project.
“This Bird’s Nest went to me and they are the only one of the many applicants that wants to dredge our rivers. And I asked them where would the sands be brought and I was told that it would be used in one of their projects in Manila Bay,” Roldan said during the press conference.
This, however, is contrary to statements from the provincial government, which announced that the sands taken from the dredging project will be used in the infrastructure projects of the provincial government.
“As far as I am concerned, Bird’s Nest told me that they would use the sand in the Manila Bay reclamation, and I even went there and saw for myself the said project. I do not know if the governor has his own agreement with other companies that says that the sands would not be brought outside the province,” Roldan said.
Roldan said that the company’s representative made it clear that as stipulated in every dredging project with local government units, a certain percentage of the sales of the sands is allotted to the provincial government, municipal or city government and the barangay.
The dredging and restoration projects involve 12 major river systems in the province.
In his State of the Province Address on Wednesday, July 5, Oriental Mindoro Gov. Humerlito Dolor clarified that the sharing of income would come from the quarry tax that the companies would pay to the provincial government.
“The sharing would be 30 percent for the provincial government, 30 percent to the municipal or city government and 40 percent would go to the barangay (villages),” Dolor said.
The governor, however, did not mention if the sands would be brought outside the province as claimed by Bird’s Nest and cited by Roldan.
The governor also assured his constituents that the river restoration project is not a form of mining and that it is a product of a Department Administrative Order of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in partnership with the Department of Public Works and Highways.
