In the aftermath of the deaths caused by the landslides in Zambales last week which is blamed on the lack of spare parts for their dredging machine, everyone seems to be in agreement that the solution to de-clog the Tanjay River of silt is to dredge it.
One way to dredge the river is to spend for it. Bais City had allocated P25 million last year for its own river.
Dredging the Tanjay river may cost the same amount, and the City does not have that kind of money.
The other way, which is more practical, is to do it the way many other local government units do it — for free. They can do that by partnering with a company that will dredge the river at no cost to the City. The dredged sand could even be placed in a landfill for the City’s reclamation activity.
The previous City Council of Tanjay had authorized the Mayor to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with a company called the Sino Italy Corp to dredge the silted Tanjay River.
By way of remuneration, the Sino Italy Corp is asking to get the magnetite from the Tanjay River sand which they will sell to China.
This is where those opposed to the project are seeing blood. A lot of doomsday scenarios enter their minds about black sand mining and, understandably, there are lots of scary stories where the shorelines collapsed because of magnetite extraction.
It is worth pointing out that the black sand mining in Cagayan Province is happening in the shorelines, and not in the river, unlike the Tanjay dredging activity.
As explained by Dr. Ely Alcala, director of the Silliman University Angelo King Center for Research & Environmental Management, which has been contracted by Sino Italy Corp. to conduct project monitoring, magnetite is a common mineral. It comes from magma.
Thanks to the dormant Mt. Talinis volcano, Tanjay’s supply of magnetite is assured for a long, long time. Magnetite is an ingredient in making iron ore. Other than that, it appears to have no positive function for the environment.
The opposition to this project goes beyond scientific and environmental concerns. There’s also the political angle. The proponents of this project already signed the MOA with the previous Tanjay City Council.
Now, some new members of the Council want to have their say on this project as well.
This may be understandable up to a certain point but at the end of the day, something must be done about the Tanjay River before Tanjay becomes another Zambales.
October is coming and soon, the amihan will push all storms and weather disturbances our way.
Everyone should just get their act together. And pronto!
