By Gabriel Pabico Lalu | Philippine Daily Inquirer | July 21, 2025

MANILA, Philippines — A bill that would declare the mining of the country’s black sand and other important minerals illegal has been filed at the House of Representatives, to address growing concerns about the activity’s impact on local ecosystems.

Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima cited several factors in pursuing House Bill (HB) No. 1843—including studies from environmental groups about the negative effects of black sand mining, like in the case of Cagayan province where houses supposedly crumbled down due to soil erosion.

Black sand, De Lima said, is considered as an “important mineral that keeps sand particles heavier and more compressed, thus serving as a natural barrier of land surfaces and fresh water deposits from seawater and ensures that seawater is at a level lower than land surface area.”

“Studies by environmental groups in areas with black sand mining showed that black sand mining operations contributed to the depletion of fisheries, erosion of land and severe flooding in coastal and riverside communities. It is even predicted that areas mined for magnetite or black sand could sink and be underwater within 30 to 70 years as rapid subsidence will highly expose the said areas to flooding and seasonal typhoon,” De Lima said in her bill’s explanatory note.

“In Cagayan, for example, residents have expressed alarm at the effects of black sand mining activities. In a press conference in September 2013, Ofelia Fuentes of Samahan ng Kababaihan sa Buguey at Sta. Teresita said that due to black sand mining in Cagayan River and coastline, houses are crumbling because the sand underneath it are getting eroded,” she added.

If HB No. 1843 is approved by Congress and signed into law, those seeking dredging permits would have to first present a “prior certification from the Mining and Geosciences Bureau, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on whether black sand or magnetites exist in the proposed mining sites.”

Those who continue to mine black sand along coastal areas and river deltas will face a prison sentence ranging from six years to 12 years, and a fine between P1 million to P10 million.

“It shall be unlawful for any person, natural or juridical, to engage in black sand or magnetite mining in the coastal areas and river deltas of the country,” the bill stated.

“It shall also be unlawful for any person, natural or juridical, to appropriate any and all dredged materials collected in sites where black sand or magnetites exist. Failure to dispose of dredged materials as provided in Section 4 of this Act shall constitute illegal mining and shall be subject to the same penalty as black sand or magnetite mining,” it added.

De Lima’s proposal coincides with the call of several progressive groups and fisherfolk organizations, who have opposed dredging operations along Cagayan River, due to fears that dredging in the area actually targets black sand.

During the 19th Congress, former ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro called for an investigation on the matter, backing the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) request for an immediate investigation “into the environmental destruction and economic displacement caused by Chinese dredging operations in Cagayan.”

“The fisherfolk continue to suffer the consequences, and justice demands that those responsible—foreign companies and complicit government officials—be held accountable,” Castro added.

New members of the Makabayan bloc have been urged by their predecessors to pursue the inquiry, as House Resolution No. 2278 was not taken up before the 19th Congress adjourned.

Makabayan said that the daily earnings of local fisherfolk, especially in Aparri, have dropped from around P7,000 to P9,000 to just P900.

The go signal to do dredging along Cagayan River was given in December 2020 by former Environment secretary Roy Cimatu, to widen the waterway after Typhoon Ulysses caused widespread flooding in Cagayan Valley provinces.

The dredging operations were expected to improve water flow along the river. However, many expressed concern as to whether the dredging will impact the environment negatively.

Pamalakaya claimed that the dredging operations were actually a large-scale extraction of sand and minerals—which possibly damaged the marine ecosystem in the area.

Aside from the fisherfolk concerns, Makabayan noted that the Chinese firms doing the dredging have been involved in different controversial operations in other parts of the country.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer