For nearly four decades, Bernard Cabading’s family has relied on farming on the banks of the Cagayan River as their primary livelihood. But as illegal logging and mining activities weakened the region’s soil, worsening floods have replaced previously fertile soil with sand and gravel, reducing the area available for planting their crops. 

As five typhoons battered Cagayan in succession last month, the little portion left in Ka Bernard’s farm was washed away, leaving him without any source of daily sustenance. 

Starting last week of September, Cagayan Valley and other parts of Northern Luzon were struck by a series of typhoons—including Severe Tropical Storm Kristine, Super Typhoon Leo, Typhoon Marce, and Super Typhoon Ofel—damaging farmlands, roads, bridges, and other infrastructure. 

“Masalimuot ang ganitong pagkasira ng aming mga tanim dahil ilang buwan mong inalagaan at ginastusan ay ganun nalang kadali ang pagkasira nito,” Ka Bernard, who is also a member of the Anonang Farmers Organization of Cordon, Isabela, told the Collegian.

With the province suffering from almost P1.4-billion worth of damages as of Nov. 15, other farmers from Cagayan Valley share Ka Bernard’s sentiments. While some of them managed to harvest their crops before the typhoon, the continuous deluge left their harvests unfit for sale. 

Other farmers in low-lying areas also remain in limbo, fearing that even the occasional rains will still result in flooding, aggravated by illegal logging and black sand mining activities near the area. 

Both black sand mining and logging activities inhibit the soil’s ability to absorb rainwater, leading to severe flooding in the surrounding area. Black sand mining, used to extract magnetite sand for steel and concrete products, also creates a narrower river bed that speeds up the flow of water, increasing the risk of flash floods, especially in low-lying areas. 

Despite the creation of a regional police task force to stop illegal mining activities last 2020, in Ka Bernard’s hometown, Isabela, unnamed Chinese vessels were seen engaging in illegal sand mining activities. 

Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and farmer group DANGGAYAN Cagayan have reported these activities as the major contributors to severe flooding during Typhoon Ulysses in 2022, which resulted in at least 29 casualties, including five in Isabela. 

Since 2018, the Cagayan Provincial Board has condemned these activities and appealed to the previous President Rodrigo Duterte administration for a comprehensive investigation, but the activities still continue up to this day without any opposition from relevant agencies like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. 

To mitigate the flooding in the province, a dredging project–meant to remove sandbars that stop the flow of water in the Cagayan River—was started in 2021. But residents reported that the project serves as a cover for black sand mining operations, with reports of a dredger ship sucking sand at night in Appari, Cagayan (see sidebar).

The 31.88-kilometer Cagayan River Restoration Project, divided into two phases, affects the municipalities of Aparri, Camalaniugan, and Lal-lo (/Philippine Collegian; Source: Environmental Management Bureau Region II).

The project is operated by three companies: Riverfront Construction, Magnacorp, and Great River North Consortium—which lists Sto. Tomas, Isabela Mayor Antonio Talaue as the managing director.

Despite suspicions that the harvested black sand is processed in China for their own production, the local government unit has denied the claims and retained the project, whose completion is slated for the first quarter of 2025. 

But with unregulated illegal mining activities in the region, farmers continue to experience frequent floods, resulting in significant financial loss. 

“Naging mahirap ang mapagkukunan ng perang pambili ng mga pangangailangan, habang mataas pa rin ang presyo ng mga pangunahing bilihin sa amin tulad ng bigas at mga gulay,” Ka Bernard said. 

Although the local government units distributed relief goods to victims of the typhoons, BJ Vargas Pabon, leader of the peasant youth alliance Masakbayan Isabela, noted that some farmers were not able to receive support from the local government as they prioritized other displaced residents, leaving the farmers struggling for sources of sustenance. 

In the absence of government subsidies and reforms, especially during periods of natural disasters, farmers like Ka Bernard are left with no choice but to turn to lenders, locally known as “usureros” or usurers.

Usurers, often foreigners who own rice mills or warehouses, charge illegally high interest rates reaching up to 25 to 35 percent per planting cycle, increasing even further during times of calamities. 

With their crops swept away by the recent typhoons, farmers like Ka Bernard are left buried under mountains of debt at soaring interest rates—sometimes forcing them to surrender other assets including livestock and their own farmlands.

“Itong sunod-sunod na bagyo ay naging dagok po sa kanila (mga magsasaka) dahil nasira po yung kanilang pananim, kaya naging doble po yung pasanin ng mga magsasaka, at may interes pang babayaran at nalugi na po yung mga magsasaka,” Pabon said. 

Without any alternative source of income, Ka Bernard continues to till the small piece of land he has left in preparation for the next planting season. For him, the current administration must focus on supporting the farmers of Cagayan Valley by giving financial support and subsidies to help farmers recover from the damage. 

“Dagok ang iniwan sa amin ng mga bagyo subalit nag-iwan naman ito ng aral sa amin, tulad ng paghandaan ang mga bagyong darating upang maiwasan ang pagkasira ng mga pananim at pagkawala ng alagang hayop,” Ka Bernard said. ●