CERTAIN environment groups have opposed the dredging there for certain reasons. But this is another story. The alphabet soup of self-proclaimed environmental groups include the Zambales Ecological Network (ZEN), Pamalakaya, and Save Zambales Kalikasan Movement (SZKM). They alleged irregularities in the dredging activities, which the government through various agencies is supposed to regulate.
They alleged that what the dredging operators did was sand-mining, which was disguised as river dredging and flood-control, resulting in coastal soil erosion and socio-economic harm to all residents, including new settlers. They hardly spoke on the issue of the adverse effects of the monsoon season or “habagat,” treating it as if it does not exist.
They alleged that the collapse of more than 50 resort houses in the coastline of San Felipe town was due to what they described as dredging activities there. It was unfounded. It was unsupported by facts. Besides, critics hardly mentioned the huge waves, strong winds, and heavy rain downpour as factors that led to soil erosion along the coastline of San Felipe, which extended since the 1991 eruption of Mt Pinatubo volcano by almost a kilometer because of the accretion of volcanic materials along the coastlines.
They also claimed more than 5,000 fisherfolk across San Felipe, Botolan, and San Narciso were affected, claiming further that their traditional fishing grounds were allegedly destroyed by the noise and vibrations caused by the large dredging vessels sucking sand within municipal waters since October 2023. They alleged their operations were conducted about 50 meters from shoreline. They alleged that Chinese vessels belonging to the state-owned China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. were (CHEC) operating to gather sand and other materials allegedly for reclamation projects in the Manila Bay area.
They also made the claim that Zambales never was a calamity area for floods because the West Philippine Sea is a natural drainage and that diking of rivers in the town of Botolan traps water. The DENR gave a counter argument that could be noted for its brevity: erosion is due to Mt Pinatubo volcano lahar accretion, and the monsoon or habagat season.
Many of the resort houses that collapsed in San Felipe were illegally built on unclassified public land and accretion areas. Hence, the Central Regional Office (CENRO) of DENR issued earlier what they called as Notice of Violations (NOVs) to certain resort owners, who were identified as Allan Fernandez, Ferdinand Bugarin, Erwin Cruz, among others. Those NOVs could also be seen as short of eviction notices.
The DENR said that the most adversely affected areas in Sitio Liwliwa are accreted unclassified public lands, which cannot be privately owned. Incidentally, what the resort owners have are mere “rights” to those pieces of public land. The term “right” is undefined, although some people refer to it as the “right to squat.”
So who composes those environmental groups there? There were observations that resort owners themselves could be the members of environmental groups, but not all. SZKM is described as a network including fishermen’s groups Pamamalakaya, Deep Sea Fishing Inc., San Narciso Bangus Fry Association, San Narciso Resorts Owners Association, women and other groups. The preliminary damage assessment report covering typhoon impacts came from the San Felipe Resort Owners Association.
The business interest of certain resort owners coincides with their environmental interest. Resorts in Sitio Liwliwa in San Felipe town are beachfront resorts. Hence, coastal erosion emanating from the habagat onslaughts of combined huge waves, strong winds, and heavy rain, destroys cottages, agoho trees, and other beach amenities.
Resort owners, mostly settlers from elsewhere, could only complain of what nature has brought to their fortune. Lili Marlene (not her real name), a resort owner in Sto. Tomas, said “Halos ‘yan sira-sira lahat. Hindi na kami makapagtanggap ng guest”. They claim they bought land in good faith with documents and provide local employment.
The DENR and the Zambales LGUs, said there are now 2,000 illegal private resorts in the coastal areas. Since 2008, permanent warning signs have declared the danger zones and that their construction are considered illegal, so resort owners joined protests to defend their investments and push the narrative that dredging, not squatting, causes their losses.
