Mining operations within the Marikina River Basin should not be blamed for the massive flooding that engulfed some parts of Marikina and Rizal province during the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses, the deadliest and most destructive typhoon to hit the country in 2020.
This was indicated in the recent decision released by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), which lifted the temporary suspension of several quarries and crushing plants in Rizal province.
"With or without mining operations, flooding, erosion, and siltation will occur within the Marikina River Basin," MGB said.
"The quarrying operations in Rizal are just a fraction of the land disturbance. The contribution of these operations to the flooding and siltation of the Marikina River is only minimal," it added.
Furthermore, MGB said other factors including rapid urbanization, natural erosion, deforestation of portions of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range, and other disturbances have greater contributions to the siltation of the Marikina River and subsequent flooding along the floodplains.
To be specific, MGB Regional Office No. IV CALABARZON recently lifted the temporary suspension orders imposed on seven Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSAs) and six Mineral Processing Permits (MPPs) in Rizal.
Holders of these MPSAs are San Rafael Development Corp.; Montalban Millex Aggregates Corp.; Hardrock Aggregates, Inc.; Rapid City Realty and Development Corp.; and Asensio-Pinzon Aggregates Corp.
Companies holding the MPPs cleared to operate, on the other hand, are Rodrock and Aggregate Corp., previously owned by Oxford Mines, Inc., Viba Aggregates & Marketing; Amiterra Aggregates Corp.; Dream Rock Resources Phils., Inc.; Superior Aggregates, Inc.; and ATN Holdings, Inc.
The said MPSAs and MPPs were suspended pursuant to Memorandum Order No. 1, Series of 2020, which ordered the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Composite Team to investigate certain quarry and crushing plant operations in the Rizal Province within the coverage of the Marikina River Basin.
The investigation was prompted by the flooding caused by Typhoon Ulysses on November 12, 2020, that submerged low lying areas in Marikina City and the municipalities of San Mateo and Rodriguez, Rizal especially those adjacent Marikina-Wawa River.
At the time, Governor Rebecca Ynares had specifically asked the DENR to suspend the mining permits of quarry operators in the province pending the conduct of a comprehensive probe as to whether quarrying contributed to the flooding in the province.
Three months later, the DENR Composite Team concluded among other things that the flooding on November 12, 2020 in Marikina City and other vicinity was primarily caused by the massive amount of rainfall generated by Typhoon Ulysses.
"The Sierra Madre Mountains, which is one of the sources of run-off from the headwater of Wawa Dam, was already oversaturated because of Typhoons Quinta, Rolly, Siony, and Tonyo, which all occurred right before Typhoon Ulysses," MGB said in its decision.
"This oversaturation greatly contributed to the swelling of the Marikina River, which tends to backflow from its channel towards the confluence of its tributaries causing the rise of riverine floodwater and consequent flooding in adjacent areas," it added.
It also said that the flooding within the low-lying areas of the Marikina River Basin is a natural hazard due to its geomorphologic setting.
For Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED) Executive Director Gerry Arances, MGB's decision is unacceptable and that the "government cannot act as if no lessons were learned from the devastation brought by Typhoon Ulysses and the five other storms that came with it in a span of just five weeks".
"The DENR should in fact ban all mining and quarrying in Rizal and the whole of Sierra Madre, and allow itself to focus first on rehabilitation efforts to rejuvenate the mountain range and map out all areas in need of disaster risk reduction," Arances told Business Bulletin.
"Until then, no talk of any and all forms of extractive operations is acceptable, as the benefits of such are minuscule when compared to the suffering experienced by climate-vulnerable communities. Last year’s series of typhoons will unfortunately not be the last, as the climate crisis continues to worsen today. We must not forget that," he added.
For its part, the DENR Composite Team said that it asked the aforementioned companies to comply with certain conditions first before they can operate again, including the construction of drainage systems with appropriate multiple silt traps/sumps and gradients to ensure the effectivity of the drainage system to be put in place.
DENR also told the companies to construct a settling pond or catchment basin and de-silt the creek/tributary affected by the siltation caused by its entire operation.
MGB said that it was only after the compliance with these conditions when the suspensions of quarrying and mineral processing operations were lifted.