De Lima urges probe into San Felipe dredging activities

House Deputy Minority Leader and Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list, Rep. Leila de Lima, filed this week a resolution seeking an urgent probe into the reported large-scale dredging and extraction activities of a Chinese firm in San Felipe, Zambales. 

In House Resolution No. 424, de Lima also sought to examine the involvement and accountability of foreign contractors, including the China Harbor Engineering Company Ltd. (CHEC).  

According to reports, CHEC is one of China’s state-run entities, being a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC). 

“The involvement of the China Harbor Engineering Company Ltd. (CHEC) in the alleged dredging and sand extraction activities underscores the urgent need for Congressional oversight on the participation of foreign contractors in environmentally sensitive projects, amid mounting public concern that such operations may exceed their declared purposes of flood control and river restoration, resulting instead in environmental degradation and social harm,” de Lima said in a statement. 

“The findings of such inquiry should guide the formulation of stronger environmental safeguards, transparency mechanisms, and accountability measures to ensure that all dredging and reclamation activities are conducted in accordance with law, and the constitutional right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology.” 

The resolution cited that environmental organizations, including the Zambales Ecological Network (ZEN), Save Our Shores Zambales, and the Institute for Area Management, have raised serious allegations that the so-called flood control and river restoration projects in Zambales, implemented under Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order (DAO) No. 2019-13, are, in reality, large-scale sand mining and extraction operations disguised as public infrastructure initiatives.