Aparri, Cagayan—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau in Region 2 has ordered a company to stop dredging the Cagayan River delta.
EMB said Pacific Offshore Exploration, Inc. has no Environmental Compliance Certificate, which is a violation, thus it should stop dredging.
In a Notice of Violation, Engineer Diosdado Doctor, EMB Region 2 officer in charge-director, said the POEI, based on an investigation conducted by EMB technical staff and documents provided by the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office of Cagayan Province, has violated environmental laws, having no ECC to conduct the dredging among them.
“You are directed immediately to refrain from conducting dredging operation until such time that an ECC shall be issued for your project,” Doctor said in the notice.
In a related memorandum, Ismael Manaligod of PENRO Cagayan has also instructed the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office in this town to coordinate with the Philippine Coast Guard, the local government unit, and the Bureau of Customs to conduct an inspection to determine POEI’s compliance with the notice.
The CENRO was also instructed to request from the BOC whether the POEI had already stopped transporting dredged materials outside the Philippines.
Earlier, the Cagayan provincial board authorized Governor Manuel Mamba to enter into a memorandum of agreement for the dredging of the Cagayan River delta, which led to a deal with the provincial government and the POEI.
Mamba said the dredging was for the reopening of the Port of Aparri, which would improve economic and trade relations between Cagayan province and China and other neighboring countries in Asia.
It was in 2018 when Mamba, chairman of the Regional Development Council’s Infrastructure Development Committee, approved a resolution on the reopening of the Port of Aparri.
The resolution said the port was recognized as a catalyst in unlocking the potential of the Cagayan Valley region as a major transshipment facility.
It also recognized the region’s development potential as an agro-industrial and tourism hub.
Mamba said the port would take in agricultural products and other goods to complement other Northern Luzon ports in the town of Claveria in Cagayan and the town of Currimao in Ilocos Norte.