The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has shelled out R10 million in assistance to the provincial government of Oriental Mindoro for the clean-up of Mag-Asawang Tubig River in Naujan town.

The river, according to government engineers, is heavily silted by earth materials flowing from the mountains of Ibulo and Muyod, and has caused "destructive" floodings in recent years in both agricultural and residential areas in this capital city and the three adjoining municipalities of Naujan, Victoria, and Baco.

The Oriental Mindoro provincial government, the DPWH, and the office of first district Rep. Rodolfo G. Valencia have allocated millions of pesos for various engineering interventions to protect Calapan City and the three affected municipalities from floods.

They said the floods were caused by river overflow caused by siltation.

A barge-mounted dredging equipment has been in full operation at the mouth of the Mag-Asawang Tubig River in Barangay San Antonio, Naujan since last month.

"It will clean up MagAsawang Tubig River of soil, mud, sand, debris, and other earth materials from a radius of 500 meters and a depth of more or less three meters," said Provincial Engineer Elmer V. Dilay, who was tasked by Governor Panaligan to "work round-the-clock" on the project.

Late last year and in the first quarter of 2008, floods that occurred in Naujan, Victoria, and Baco municipalities had silted an estimated 3,000 hectares of ricefields, and banana and fruit farm lands in the area.

Meanwhile, in a letter to President Arroyo jointly signed by Bishop Warlito Cajandig, the Apostolic Vicar of Calapan, Panaligan sought help to put a stop to mining exploration activities in Oriental Mindoro which is the prime producer of agricultural goods for Metro Manila and the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) region.

Panaligan said that as the "agricultural powerhouse of the Southern Tagalog region," Oriental Mindoro sends to Metro Manila and nearby provinces its surplus rice production of five million cavans a year.

Panaligan and Bishop Cajandig wrote to President Arroyo to express opposition to the mining activities of foreign-owned Aglubang Mining Corporation, now known as the Intex Mining Corporation, on hectares of virgin lands within the watershed area of the mountains of Oriental Mindoro."

Intex is planning to mine the area for high grade nickel and cobalt on a site near the mountains of Ibulo and Muyod, the main source of irrigation and drinking water for residents and farmers living in the area.

Panaligan and Cajandig told the President that if Intex continues operations "our mountain watersheds will be exploited for mining, our province will experience more catastrophic floodings in the future."

They urged Mrs. Arroyo to immediately "effect the cancellation of the MPSA (mineral production sharing agreement) granted to the mining firm to ensure the preservation of our watershed areas in the mountains of Mindoro, sustain our current position as a major agricultural producer, and save our province from devastating floods."