Oriental Mindoro halts dredging activities amid concerns

INQUIRER FILES

CALAPAN CITY, ORIENTAL MINDORO, Philippines — The provincial government of Oriental Mindoro has temporarily suspended all dredging activities following recommendations from the Inter-Agency Committee and after over two years of evaluating conditions in the Balete River Restoration project in the town of Gloria.

In letters sent separately to Bird’s Nest Resources Corporation (BNRC) and Southern Concrete Industries, Inc. (SCII) last month, Gov. Humerlito Dolor announced that the province is halting the notice to proceed (NTP) previously issued to both companies that are engaged in the river restoration projects.

Dolor’s decision followed a request from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for an updated assessment of the navigational waterways in the rivers designated for dredging.

READ: Bishop bucks massive sand dredging in Oriental Mindoro

According to the governor’s letter to BNRC, he considered the importance of an updated evaluation of waterways in the implementation of the river restoration through large-scale dredging of Alag and Longos rivers, in temporarily suspending the NTP and operating permits for the projects.

“This suspension, however, does not prohibit the proponent from complying with the conditions of the project’s Environmental Compliance Certificate,” Dolor wrote in his letter to BNRC.

Environmental conditions

In his letter to SCII, Dolor explained that he had received correspondence from the DENR requesting an updated evaluation of the navigational channel in the Balete River (Gloria) and the Sumagui River (Bansud) due to potential changes in the hydrological and environmental conditions over time.

Dolor also took to social media on Tuesday to counter claims that dredging would resume in September.

“The provincial government expressly denies the spreading fake news that dredging will occur today or on September 15, 2025. I personally wrote to the proponents in the towns of Gloria and Baco to discuss the issue further. We want dialogue and not chaos,” Dolor stated in his post.

According to the provincial government, no further dredging activities have been conducted anywhere else in the province following four test dredging operations in Gloria earlier this year,

The Koalisyon Sagip Mindoro—a coalition of fishermen, business people, medical professionals, and students—has expressed that the suspension order is insufficient. They have called for the complete cancellation of the dredging projects when they staged a rally on Thursday, drawing around 2,000 protesters, according to organizers.

‘Irreparable damage’

“It has become clear that the dredging activities in Gloria, even though they are still in the testing phase, have already caused irreparable damage to the coastal areas. The suspension is merely a tactic to pacify the growing anger of the people against the project,” the group stated.

Kubayi Oriental Mindoro, a women’s rights advocacy group, has also voiced support for the cancellation of all dredging activities, citing the negative impact on the livelihoods of the people in Barangay Balete.

However, Fr. Edwin Gariguez, the Social Action Director of the Apostolic Vicariate of Calapan, distanced himself from the rally in Gloria, clarifying that it was organized by those claiming dredging would resume this month.

Bishop Moises Cuevas had previously issued a pastoral letter opposing dredging but clarified that the Church does not oppose river restoration efforts for flood mitigation, provided that they are based on sound engineering principles and scientific evidence.

Lawyer Joel Jabal, former president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) provincial chapter, read a statement from the lawyers’ group expressing support for the prayer rally. He noted that any extractive activities involving natural resources must comply with existing laws. /cb