By Eva Visperas

 

WHEN farmlands begin to look like a mining site, something is terribly wrong.

And in Barangay Samon, Sta. Maria, Pangasinan, the wrong is no longer creeping—it is gaping.

About 20 hectares of fertile farmland now bear deep holes, stripped soil, and scars that should never exist on agricultural land. This is no mere disturbance. This is destruction.

And destruction that has been allowed to continue despite repeated pleas, complaints, and documented evidence.

Last week, Engr. Rosendo So, chair of SINAG, brought a group of mediamen to the site so they could see for ourselves what has been happening. It was not a pretty sight.

What once was productive farmland is now pockmarked like an open-pit mining concession. The alleged operators have been digging beyond the river channel, far from where any legitimate river quarrying should take place.

Worse, these areas have no titles under the names of these operators. The land is not theirs. This is trespassing dressed up as “quarrying”—and even that label is generous. The reality is closer to illegal mining, as So rightly puts it.

The farmers and So filed their first complaint with DENR Region 1 in September.

Today, nearly three months later, the digging continues. The holes are deeper. The affected area is wider. The damage is undeniable.

And yet, the response from DENR?

Meetings. More meetings. Endless meetings.

But no firm action. No suspension order. No cancellation of the permit.

A “permit” that should not even apply—because quarrying was allowed only within the river, not on private farmlands.

If the DENR cannot distinguish a river from a rice field, we are in serious trouble.

 Who is the DENR protecting?

This is the question that now hangs over the issue.

Why do these operators seem so emboldened?

Why does the digging continue despite clear violations of land ownership, quarry regulations, and environmental protection rules?

Why is the DENR tolerating a blatant assault on agricultural land?

The people of Sta. Maria deserves an answer.

The farmers whose land is being destroyed deserve an answer.

And the public, who depend on these farmlands for food, deserve an answer.

Engr. So is now calling for a Senate investigation. And rightly so.

If the regional office cannot or will not enforce the law, then national authorities must step in. Because this is no longer just a land dispute. This is a looming environmental and agricultural crisis.

Let us be clear:

• When digging alters the river’s natural flow, communities downstream are put at risk.
• When farmland collapses into pits, livelihoods are destroyed.
• When authorities look the other way, impunity thrives.

Residents worry not only about their crops, but also their homes, their safety, their future.

Uncontrolled digging can cause erosion, flooding, and ground collapse.

These are not hypothetical risks—they are predictable consequences.

And yet the illegal quarrying continues, day after day.

The DENR is not a passive observer.

It is the government agency mandated to protect the land, safeguard the environment, and regulate activities like quarrying.

Protection is not optional.

Regulation is not optional.

Enforcement is not optional.

This is a plea—no, a demand—for DENR to finally show its teeth.

To stand with the people, not with operators holding questionable papers.

To prove that the law still has meaning, and that public welfare still matters.

The farmers have cried out.

The residents have raised the alarm.

Engr. So has exposed the wrongdoing.

The media has seen the destruction.

All eyes are now on DENR.

Act now. Not later. Not eventually. Not after another meeting.

Act now—before the farmlands disappear, and before the people of Sta. Maria pay the price for your silence.

In the end, this issue is not just about permits, boundaries, or bureaucratic lapses—it is about protecting people whose lives depend on the land. Sta. Maria’s farmers cannot wait another week, another month, or another round of empty dialogues. The longer DENR delays, the deeper the wounds become—on the soil, on livelihoods, and on public trust. It is time to step up. And the time is now.