The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Sunday, March 5, to revoke the environmental permits issued to two dredging projects in Cavite as the livelihoods of fisherfolk in the area have been badly affected by their dredging activities.

“We urge the DENR to immediately revoke the environmental permit granted to the destructive dredging activities in Manila Bay. We also remind the DENR that even their study showed that the southern part of Manila Bay in the province of Cavite is still rich in coral reefs, which are now in danger of being destroyed due to the said activities,” Pamalakaya Chairperson Fernando Hicap said in a statement.

Pamalakaya said the livelihoods of fishers in Cavite have been negatively impacted since 2021 when Silverquest Mining Resources Inc. (SMRI) acquired an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) to conduct a seabed quarrying covering 2, 124 hectares of municipal waters of Ternate and Naic in Cavite.

Meanwhile, the group said Dutch company Boskalis has been carrying out a dredging activity in Rosario, Cavite since last year.

Such activities, according to Pamalakaya, lowered the already-low income of Cavite fisherfolk.

“Mula nang mag-simula ang dredging sa municipal waters ng Naic noong 2021, tinatayang P300 na lamang ang kita ng mga mangingisda sa dalawang araw na pagpalaot, o katumbas ng P150 kada araw (Since the beginning of dredging in the municipal waters of Naic in 2021, fisherfolk’s income have dramatically decreased to only around P300 for two days of fishing, which is equivalent to P150 per day),” the fishers group said.

Fisherfolk reported that they can no longer catch fishes such as “asohos” or common whiting fish and “besugo” or red seabream due to the dredging activities allowed by the DENR.

“The dredging activities in the municipal waters of Naic have caused significant disturbance to marine life, resulting in a decline in catch, particularly for species such as common whiting fish, red seabream, and crab,” said Pamalakaya, noting that such “activities have caused excessive noise and pollution, making it difficult for these marine creatures to thrive and survive.”

Last week, Pamalakaya met with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to complain about the loss of fishery resources in Manila Bay due to dredging projects.

The BFAR said during the dialogue that they were not consulted by the DENR when the environmental impact assessments (EIA) of the dredging activities were conducted, the fishers group noted.

“Bagama’t may kaukulang permit ang dredging, malinaw na hindi naman ito dumaan sa tamang proseso. Hindi nakonsulta ang mga susing ahensya tulad ng BFAR, at lalong walang naganap na pampublikong konsultasyon sa mga mangingisda na direktang maaapektuhan ng proyekto (Although the dredging activities have obtained the necessary permit, it is clear that it did not go through the proper process. The key agencies such as BFAR were not consulted, and there was no public consultation with the fisherfolk who would be directly affected by the project),” Hicap said.