Marcos asked to probe dredging activities in Occidental Mindoro

THE Magsasaka party-list through its national chairman, Revor Lasay, wrote a letter to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. requesting immediate action on the petition of farmers and fishermen in Occidental Mindoro.

In a letter dated May 19, 2023, Lasay pleaded for immediate action in response to the reported negative effects of dredging operations on several rivers in the province.

The process of dredging involves clearing sand and other material from the bottom of lakes, rivers, harbors, and other bodies of water.

Lasay said that on the second week of April 2023, leaders of marginal sectors from Occidental Mindoro approached the Magsasaka party-list for assistance in taking action on the alleged negative effects of dredging activities which were fronted by the “company of Mr. Roberto Gerard Nazal Jr.,” who happened to be the party-list’s first nominee in the May 2022 elections.

“The dredging activity is the excavation of aggregates in the river,” Lasay told The Manila Times on Saturday.

Lasay, citing DENR-Mimaropa Regional Executive Director Lormelyn Claudio, signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the owner and operator of three registered companies that were eligible to execute large-scale flood control dredging and desilting activities in Occidental Mindoro.

The MoA was signed in response to Administrative Order 2020-12, which calls for the rehabilitation and dredging of heavily silted river systems throughout the province.

The petition signed by the leaders of Occidental Mindoro’s marginal sectors called for a background and credentials check on the contractors in charge of the dredging activities, where Nazal is also linked with the Magsasaka party-list.

“We believe that the party-list represents our sector; however, it appears that the Magsasaka party-list’s representative is a contractor and businessman,” the petition said.

“His company’s dredging activity could have a severe impact on the livelihood of farmers and fishermen in our province,” it added.

Lasay brought the issue before the Magsasaka party-list national assembly on May 3, 2023. As a result, the assembly passed Resolution 2-23, “nullifying and invalidating the designation of Roberto Gerard L. Nazal Jr., et al., as nominees of the Magsasaka party-list for the 2022 national and local elections and electing a new set of nominees in place of the aforementioned individual.”

The Times attempted to clarify the situation by reaching out to the Nazal camp via social media and email, but no one has answered as of press time.