IT wasn’t a kaiju (sea monster) that emerged from the Pacific Ocean and hauled itself ashore, making its way inland, causing the earth to tremble while emitting alien noises. This wasn’t a scene from a Pacific Rim movie but real life unfolding in the small coastal town of MacArthur in Leyte. It wasn’t a monster but Li Long, a 100-meter-long, 15-meter-wide cutter suction dredger vessel owned by CCCC Guangzhou Dredger Company.
Li Long is not a welcome sight in MacArthur and the neighboring towns of Abuyog and Mayorga. This isn’t because it is a China-registered dredging vessel, something that made it a vessel of interest to the AFP and caused its “interception” and close monitoring en route to MacArthur. The vessel is not a welcome sight because it is in eastern Leyte to extract black sand in rural and coastal communities. The dredger is leased by MacArthur Iron Projects Corp. (MIPC). MIPC is the mine operator of Strong Built (Mining) Development Corp., which is the holder of a mineral production sharing agreement to mine magnetite sand.
MIPC was engaged in black sand mining in MacArthur from late 2020 until 2022. The black sand was exported to China. At the height of the company’s operations, some 300 local residents were reportedly employed by MIPC. This was a significant help to the community whose economy was reeling from the effects of the pandemic lockdown. However, the mining activities damaged some 60 meters of irrigation canals, and as a result, the LGU in February 2022 suspended MIPC’s operations.
In 2024, Strong Built was acquired by a corporation owned by the family of former House speaker and Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin Romualdez. Strong Built’s MPSA dates back to 2007 and is valid until 2032. The area covers 7,400 hectares and spans Dulag, MacArthur and Mayorga in Leyte’s 2nd legislative district, and Abuyog and Javier in the 3rd district.
A smaller dredging boat was reportedly used in 2020-2022, while the separation of the magnetite from the sand was done at MIPC’s local magnetic separator plant. This time around, however, with the gigantic Chinese-owned cutter suction dredger, what jobs will be available for locals? MIPC has already secured work permits and visas for at least 15 Chinese nationals.
But it is not the Chinese or political connections that have made hundreds of residents in MacArthur protest the resumption of black sand mining in their community. This is not why they have written to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to stop MIPC. Rather, people rightly fear the damage and destruction that large-scale excavation of black sand mining will cause on the ecology. A promise of full rehabilitation of mined-out lands was made the last time around, but not fulfilled. While some landowners profited from leasing out their land to MIPC from 2020 to 2022, others were eventually forced to sell when the land stopped being productive, a local source told me. People have seen the damage; their fears have factual basis. Protecting the rice fields and other lands, the coastal areas, inland water bodies and water sources from damage, destruction and contamination is not a matter of choice but of survival.
While municipal government officials of MacArthur seem to welcome the resumption of black sand extraction, some barangay (villages) are reportedly pushing for a ban. Among the other towns with areas covered by Strong Built’s MPSA, Mayorga and Abuyog have already made their opposition known. Abuyog’s Sangguniang Bayan on Feb. 10 passed Resolution 112 declaring Strong Built “persona non grata” for obtaining the MPSA without prior consultation with Abuyog’s communities and LGU. Abuyog, in 2005, banned “any black sand mining activity within the territorial jurisdiction of Abuyog.” Yet, according to the town officials, they only learned about Abuyog’s inclusion in Strong Built’s MPSA recently.
Mayorga, in June 2012, passed an ordinance that imposed a 50-year moratorium on mining operations. This ban came in the wake of the March and May 2012 fish kills in Lake Bito in MacArthur, incidents blamed on black sand mining by another company. The 2012 ordinance was reposted on the official Facebook pages of the Sangguniang Bayan and the LGU on Feb. 12. The message is clear. Abuyog and Mayorga say “No” to black sand mining.
While municipal resolutions and ordinances may not be enforceable vis-à-vis permits granted by national agencies, their intention is unmistakable. Mining and the exportation of minerals may be state policies meant to promote economic activity and national growth, but it is still the local community that will bear the direct consequences. MacArthur saw the benefits of the employment generated by mining during the pandemic. However, the benefits lasted only so long and were soon outweighed by the negative effects on environment and livelihood. Long-term food security and the health and welfare of communities are at stake here.