The militant Makabayan bloc is pressing for a House inquiry into the dredging and seabed quarrying activities in Zambales amid reports linking the operations to the China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC), among others foreign contractors.

ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago, and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co filed House Resolution (HR) No.549 for this purpose on Wednesday, Dec. 3.

The resolution particularly urges the Committee on Aquaculture and Fisheries Resources and the Committee on Natural Resources to carry out the investigation amid concerns on the particular dredging's adverse effects on local fisherman's livelihood and on marine coastal resources.

"Since October 2023, fisherfolk and coastal residents reported that they witnessed huge dredging vessels suctioning sand within the municipal waters of San Felipe, San Narciso, and Botolan," the measure read.

"The dredging vessels are being operated by various foreign corporations, including the China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC), and Harley Inc.," it noted.

Citing news reports, the authors of HR No.549 said the dredged materials from Zambales were being transported to the ongoing reclamation projects in Manila Bay.

"The dredging operations effectively disrupt and drive away fish due to noise pollution, heavy vibration, and other dredging-related stressors," the Makabayan solons said.

This wasn't the first time that a House of Representatives member sounded the alarm on CHEC's activities in Zambales.

Last month, House Deputy Minority Leader Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima filed HR No. 424, which sought an inquiry into the reported dredging and sand extraction activities in Zambales, particularly in the municipality of San Felipe. It aims to examine the involvement and accountability of foreign contractors, including CHEC.

According to the report of Zambales Ecological Network (ZEN), an organization that promotes environment protection, over 5,000 fisherfolk from the towns of San Felipe, Botolan, and San Narciso bear the brunt of the destruction of their traditional fishing grounds as a result of the dredging activities.

Earlier, the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA-Pilipinas), a national alliance of small fisherfolk, along with environmental group ZEN, exposed the "river restoration" as a seabed quarrying in disguise.

"PAMALAKAYA asserts that the seabed quarrying in Zambales undeniably a plunder of natural resources in the name of corporate greed for profit, and at the expense of people's livelihood and right to a healthy and balanced ecology," read the three-page resolution.

A major offshoot of the activities in Zambales is massive coastal erosion. Citing reports, the solons said that fishing communities and coastal structures have become more vulnerable to erosion and other geohazards.

"In Botolan town alone, over 300 houses were washed away at the height of the dredging operations in 2023. These were fishing families who were relocated to far-flung areas where there are no sources of livelihood and social services nearby," the measure read.

"In San Felipe, many resort facilities have collapsed due to receding shorelines. A one-kilometer coastal road in Sitio Tektek, Brgy. Sindol also collapsed following the successive typhoons in July 2024, which were intensified by the seabed quarrying," it added.

The Makabayan solons are part of the minority bloc in the House of Representatives.