Fisherfolk and residents in San Felipe, Zambales have decried the large-scale dredging operations of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. (CHEC) about 50 meters from the shoreline, saying the activity has destroyed marine habitats, reduced their income, and exposed their communities to coastal erosion and sea-level rise.

The groups said the dredging has worsened the destruction of the marine ecosystem and threatened their livelihoods due to noise pollution, coastal damage, and water contamination.

“This unregulated sands extraction has resulted in significant losses to daily income of coastal residents, and worsened the vulnerability of fishing communities to erosion, sea-level rise, among other geological hazards,” said Salvador France, the secretary-general of the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), said in a statement on Tuesday, Oct. 28.

He said the Chinese company, along with local and provincial governments and the national agencies that allowed the project, should be held accountable for its environmental and socio-economic impact.

“The Chinese company, the local and provincial government, as well as government agencies that approved this project are accountable to the affected residents and the environment,” France said.

Pamalakaya and the Zambales Ecological Network (ZEN) said they are preparing to file a formal complaint before the House Committees on Natural Resources and Aquatic and Fisheries Resources to push for a congressional inquiry into the dredging’s “cumulative impacts” on both the environment and the coastal economy.

“We urge the appropriate House Committees to look into the ongoing dredging in Zambales,” France stated.