ILOCOS SUR, Philippines – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the Ilocos Region scrapped a dredging agreement with a mining company in late December over a litany of violations, then restored it just a day later.

Records obtained by Rappler on Thursday, January 8, show the DENR granted an appeal by Isla Verde Mining Development Corporation (IVMDC), a firm long criticized by local environmentalists as having a “questionable track record,” undoing a cancellation it had ordered hours earlier.

On December 22, DENR-Region I terminated its memorandum of agreement with IVMDC after the firm was found to have dredged outside a designated river dredging zone and moved dredged materials without the required permits. 

The DENR-I said the activity amounted to indiscriminate dredging that caused “non-quantifiable” ecological damage.

By the next day, the decision was reversed. The DENR allowed IVMDC to resume operations, on condition that it sign a commitment with an interagency committee and opposition groups pledging to confine dredging to validated areas – an abrupt turnaround that has since drawn sharp scrutiny from environmental advocates.

Clio Nadine Rojas, spokesperson for environmental group Defend Ilocos Sur, criticized the reversal. “It is a mockery of the very mandate of the DENR to protect the environment… given that Isla Verde’s violations were repeated, deliberate, and not minor,” she said, speaking in a mix of Tagalog and English.

Residents, religious groups and environmental organizations have raised concerns over the project’s ecological impact, inadequate studies and limited community consultation.

Defend Ilocos Sur filed a complaint with the Office of the President in July 2025, while the Archdiocesan Council of the Laity submitted a similar petition in October.

Multiple violations

In an earlier letter, DENR-Region I Executive Director Crizaldy Barcelo cancelled the MOA, saying IVMDC had disregarded the agreement and violated environmental regulations.

Barcelo said that since the agreement took effect in June 2022, IVMDC had failed to operate within the designated dredging zone. The company was granted a six-month dredging period from May 10 to November 10, 2024.

Instead, it had been dredging offshore for over a year to create a navigational channel – an area not covered by its original Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC). An amended ECC that included the navigational channel was issued only on November 12, 2025.

An ECC is required for environmentally critical projects or activities in ecologically sensitive areas, including dredging.

“Regardless of the issuance of the amended ECC, fact remains that IVMDC, still was dredging outside permissible areas. Only one dredging vessel appeared to be operating within the RDZ and navigational channel,” Barcelo said.

He added that the company resumed operations on December 20 despite a moratorium remaining in effect and an unresolved show-cause order.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau also flagged in 2025 IVMDC for transporting dredged materials without the required Ore Transport Permit, citing 281 violations in 2024 and another 44 as of October 2025. The DENR issued four show-cause orders and imposed fines totalling P1.25 million.

“The payments of fines and penalties for dredging outside the coverage of the ECC, the navigational channel and RDZ and the transport without OTP will not obliterate the violation and its effect on marine ecosystem,” Barcelo said.

‘Shameless’

Environmental group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment called the reversal a “shameless” decision that ignored local opposition and documented violations.

“This victory was not just undermined – it was deliberately betrayed,” the group said. “In less than twenty-four hours, the agency exposed where its loyalty truly lies: not with the people who fought tooth and nail to stop dredging, but with corporate plunderers who need only send a letter to reverse accountability.”

Local officials have defended the project as a flood-mitigation measure for Santa, Caoayan, Vigan City and Bantay, and said it is being monitored.

“This defense is not neutral – it is rooted in bureaucrat capitalism, where political power is wielded to advance private business interests,” Kalikasan said.

The group linked the project to political interests, citing public support for the dredging by former governor Luis “Chavit” Singson and his brother, Governor Jerry Singson, whose family continues to dominate provincial politics.

Questionable record

Rojas said DENR-Region I should have prioritized documented violations over what she described as unenforceable commitments from a company with “a questionable track record.”

“Not only has the DENR failed to strictly monitor the company’s operations, but it has also been slow to respond to community complaints,” she said.

She added that the signed commitment offered no assurance of compliance, noting that IVMDC had shown it could “consistently and willfully violate an agreement with DENR-I.”

“This development forces us to ask: why is DENR-I so afraid to take decisive action to stop this destruction? Is something happening behind closed doors that makes the DENR so tolerant of these actions – or is it simply incapable of protecting the environment?” she said. – Rappler.com