The murky world of black sand mining in the Babuyan Islands

The status of the Island of Camiguin in the Babuyan Channel as the only site in the Philippines where singing humpback whales can be found is threatened by black sand mining, residents and environmentalists alleged.

They said black sand mining operations have been going on since the last week of June off the northern Island of Camiguin (not to be confused with an island found in the southern Philippines).

In an interview with GMA News Online, World Wildlife Fund Philippines’ president and CEO Lory Tan explained that black sand mining will have harmful effects on the marine biodiversity in the area, particularly to the humpbacks.

“Any kind of disturbance will affect the humpback whale to calve. During the calving season, they look for calm, protective areas that are relatively shallow,” Tan said in a phone interview on Thursday.

“Hindi sila nandun para kumain, nandun sila para manganak,” he explained.

Humpback whales can grow to the size of a ten-wheeler truck. They can weigh up to 30 tons and be as long as 45 feet.

In the Philippines, they can only be found in the Babuyan Channel, between Batanes and the northern tip of mainland Luzon, which serve as their breeding grounds in the country.

The humpbacks can be spotted between November to April every year. The ones spotted off the island of Camiguin have also been seen in Japan and Russia, making the area part of the western North Pacific population.

Apart from the humpback whale population, black sand mining operations will also disturb the marine food chain, which will ultimately affect fishing - the primary livelihood of residents on the island.

“Kapag binulabog mo ‘yung ilalim, common knowledge that it will affect the food chain there. It will affect ‘yung mga mangingisda ng Babuyan Channel ‘pag ginulo mo ang balance ng marine ecosystem,” the WWF-Philippines president said.

Apart from fish production, Mines and Geoscience Bureau director Leo Jasareno noted that mining operations would be detrimental to the island’s coast.

“Apektado ang coral reef, pero ang pinakamatindi riyan na epekto ay ‘yung pagkasira sa coastal areas natin. Uubusin niyan ‘yung coastal areas natin. Kakainin ‘yung lupa,” Jasareno was quoted as saying in a television report aired on GMA’s “24 Oras” Thursday newscast.



Caught by surprise

In a phone interview with “Shirley,” a resident of Camiguin Island who refused to reveal her true identity as she feared retribution, she noted that the residents of the island were surprised to spot ships off their coast around the last week of June.

She narrated that the ships had a pair of large hoses, which were supposedly siphoning large amount of sand. The ships, which could only identified by their paint of red and green, did not bear any other markings.

“Dumating ‘yung barko, June 27, 28 at ‘yung parang kamukha ring barko, June 29, 30 at July 1,” Moises Castillejos, Camiguin Public Elementary School principal, said in the television report.

The residents discovered that the mining operators were Taiwanese after the ships' officers visited their Barangay Captain. It was also then that they confirmed that the operations were connected with black sand mining.

The alleged miners were after the precious magnetite or black sand, which is used in steel production. The sand also contains rare earth minerals like Thorium, Titanium, Zirconium and Tungsten.

In the television report, the MGB identified the ships as “Monte Cristo” and “Xe Hai Yu.”

Illegal operation?

In an interview with GMA News Online, Calayan Vice Mayor Florencio de Guzman denied that there were mining operations off Camiguin. According to him, the ships that were spotted off the island were just getting “samples.”

The island of Camiguin is part of the Calayan municipality.

“Pending application ata ang company [na nagsagawa ng operasyon], sampling lang ito for testing. They extracted small quantities,” he said.

GMA News Online tried to reach Calayan Mayor Alfonso Llopis, but he declined to be interviewed.

Meanwhile, the MGB tagged the operation as illegal, the television report said.

“Ang mga reports natin ay umpisa sa Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur umaabot pa nga ng Bataan ‘yung mga reports ng black sand mining na illegal… Ang gobyerno ay lulusob na sa mga lugar na ‘yan,” MGB director Jasareno said.

In a separate interview with Calayan Mayor Alfonso Llopis last Friday, he told GMA News Online that the local government has no knowledge on the alleged black sand operations.

“Alam ng Diyos ‘yan na hindi ko alam ‘yan (black sand mining). Hindi nagpaalam sa akin [ang mga barkong ‘yun],” Llopis said.

He added that in the past 12 years, the local government of Calayan under his administration, including the previous mayor, who is his brother, no mining permit has been approved.

“In the past 12 years, wala kaming [ibinigay] na mining permit. Around 20 companies ang mga applications [na natanggap namin],” he added.

The mayor explained that after he learned about the ships' presence in the area, he sent the police and the coast guard officials to conduct an inspection.

The police supposedly told the local chief executive that a "person of authority" sent the ships.

“Sabi ng pulisya, may pinagpaalamanan daw na mataas na tao ‘yung mga opisyal ng barko [kaya nagpunta sa isla],” he noted. He did not elaborate.

Public consultations

Vice mayor De Guzman explained that the local MGB office had conducted an information campaign for the residents alongside the local government's public consultations, which were concluded last Sunday.

“Initially, may opposition pero pagkatapos nilang malaman ‘yung rules and regulation, wala ng violent reaction,” De Guzman said.

However, Camiguin resident Shirley said that the public consultations started only after the islanders spotted the ships siphoning black sand. Furthermore, she described the “consultation” as more of a “lecture.”

She identified De Guzman as one of the officials present during the public meetings.

According to Shirley, the residents of the island signed a petition against mining. However, the local government officials allegedly threatened the signatories. She added that some public school teachers were sacked after signing the petition.

De Guzman gave no firm comment on the alleged removal of the teachers. “Hindi pwedeng tanggalin ang mga guro... Hindi ko ma-explain in detail.”

The vice mayor refused to comment on whether or not the Calayan local government was in favor of the mining operation. “Hindi ko muna pag-uusapan iyan. We have sought experts’ assistance. Wala pa tayong masusing pag-aaral [kung talagang makakatulong sa komunidad iyan.]” — DVM/TJD, GMA News