Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima has called for an investigation into a Chinese company’s dredging operations near Zambales, noting that there are different issues brought by such an activity.
De Lima, in a statement over the weekend, said that Malacañang should check the China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. (CHEC) dredging in Zambales, as residents claimed that the operations endanger communities and the overall ecosystem.
According to the lawmaker, the fisherfolk and residents of San Felipe town in Zambales are primarily affected by the dredging.
‘This requires an urgent probe. We intend to file a measure to look into these alleged large-scale dredging operations that cause serious environmental destruction, threaten livelihoods, and endanger the safety of our countrymen,’ De Lima said in a statement over the weekend.
‘(There is a need to) determine the legality and scope of these operations, as well as their impact on the environment and the risks they pose to our coastal communities,’ she added.
De Lima also underscored that CHEC is reportedly a China-state owned company, under the China Communications Construction Company.
‘China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. is reportedly one of China’s state-run entities, being a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC),’ she said.
‘This Chinese infrastructure firm has already been reported to have a shady track record and to be involved in labor-related complaints-all the more reason for Malacañang to look into the situation in Zambales, as well as in other areas of the country facing similar issues,’ de Lima added.
This is not the first time CHEC has been embroiled in controversy regarding dredging operations. In March 2024, several residents of San Felipe have already raised concerns after seeing at least 14 dredging vessels with Chinese crew members near the said coastal town.
According to one of the residents, the dredging was also conducted by CHEC, particularly in Barangay Sindol and Sitio Laoag in Barangay Maloma.
During the same month, the Philippine Coast Guard detained the crew of at least 17 vessels involved in the dredging activities to allow authorities to check for possible violations of the government’s environmental protection, safety, and security protocols.
However, in October 2025, San Felipe residents once again protested the ‘large-scale dredging operations’ that were just 50 meters from the shoreline, noting that the activity had harmed the environment, reduced fisherfolk’s income, and contributed to floods due to sea-level rise.
‘If these large-scale dredging operations are left unchecked, we would be neglecting the welfare and concerns of our countrymen,’ de Lima said.
‘These foreign companies will just continue their activities, and we would not know, but days and weeks after, our natural resources may be irreversibly damaged, our fisherfolk without livelihood, and hopefully not, we might wake up one day to a disaster wherein a lot of our fellow Filipinos will be put in danger,’ she added.
This is not the first time De Lima has spoken about the harmful effects of dredging and mining operations. Last September, the lawmaker chided the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for allowing the continuous mining of black sand across the country, saying that the agency should be ‘proactive enough’ to oppose the practice.
De Lima urged the DENR to take a stand on black sand mining, as reports indicate that such activities continue in Zambales, the Ilocos Region, and Cagayan.
According to her, aside from the ecological impact of black sand mining, there are security concerns, as there is no clear explanation for where the mined sand is delivered or for what purposes it is used.
Previously, de Lima filed House Bill (HB) No. 1843, which seeks to declare the mining of the country’s black sand and other important minerals illegal, to address growing concerns about the activity’s impact on local ecosystems.