‘Amidst global shortage, local sand must be for PH housing, infra’
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said the Senate probe into the “poaching or export of sand and other landfill materials” should cover not only the reported sand dredging in Batangas “but similar cases in other parts of the country.”
Recto said he will a file resolution that will inquire into the sand extraction attempt of a Chinese-manned dredging ship off the coast of Lobo, Batangas, and “if this incident is happening in other areas as well.
“Have we become a land reclamation material supplier? Are we exporting our sand?” Recto said.
“If our mountains have been flattened and transported ship by ship to reclaim islands, some of which are within our territory, then that is
Recto said if reports are true that the Chinese ship was dredging sand for use in the building of Hong Kong airport’s third runway, “then it is our second contribution to the project – the first being the P700 million that Filipino travelers pay a year for the expansion of the Hong Kong airport.”
“It is in the fine print of a round-trip plane ticket to Hong Kong. Nasa ticket ‘yan. You pay 90 Hong Kong dollars as Hong Kong airport construction fee,” Recto said
“There are many provinces in the country that are sand and gravel poor. Kaya
“Six million units
“Sand is in high demand worldwide. According to the United Nations, sand and gravel account for 85 percent of everything mined worldwide annually. And China, which accounts for half of the global demand, is like a huge sand-and-gravel suction machine,” he said.
Recto said the high demand for sand has given birth to “sand mafia” in many parts of the world, “and possibly, there are local groups here which are trafficking that sellable commodity.
“Under the radar lang at
“Global gravel extraction is at a volume twice than what all the rivers can yield. Vietnam’s domestic demand for sand exceeds the country’s total reserves. Many beaches in other countries have been stripped bare of sand. Strip mining also happens in coastal areas. Dapat
“Dito