A day before the National Indigenous Peoples Day in the Philippines, members of the Dumagat-Remontado indigenous tribe across Rizal and Quezon Province marched in front of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to protest the New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam project in Southern Sierra Madre. Despite the denial of the Department of Public Order and Safety (DPOS) for a rally permit, over 60 indigenous peoples and support groups pushed through under the rain on August 8 to demand an audience with Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga.
“Kapag hindi kami hinarap at kinausap ng secretary ng departamentong ito at naglabas ng kautusan sa ECC, mananawagan kami at patuloy na mananawagan sa malawak na mamamayan sa Pilipinas at sa iba’t ibang uri ng organisasyon upang maglunsad ng isang malaking pagkilos,” stated Indigenous Dumagat-Remontado leader Nanay Conchita ‘Conching’ Calzado, who drew parallels between the impacts of natural hazards worldwide and the state of the environment in the Philippines.
“Ipananawagan namin sa buong daigdig, dahil buong daigdig ang nakakaranas na ngayon ng sunod-sunod na kalamidad na ang nakakasalalay ay ang pareho nating sunod na salinlahi.”
Alleged violations
According to the indigenous tribe members, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) violated the terms in the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) granted by the DENR by not meeting the following Local Government Unit (LGU) permits: Resolusyon ng Panalalawigan ng Quezon No. 2024-1642, Kapasyahan ng Infanta Municipal Development Council 07-20183, and Resolusyon ng Sangguniang Pambayan ng Infanta. Per the ECC, these permits are required before the project should be allowed to continue.
The protesters demand that the DENR (1) provide a concrete response to the alleged violation, (2) cancel the ECC, and (3) issue a cease-and-desist order to MWSS based on allegedly violating the conditions stated in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), should there be no response to the points raised in the 2019 technical review of the project conducted by environmental scientist Ruben Guieb.
Ongoing construction despite lack of permits
Dumagat-Remontado leader William ‘Mudyat’ Quierrez revealed that there is ongoing construction on the site, despite the lack of necessary LGU permits. “Dahil katunayan po, mayroon na pong mga lokal na pamahalaan na nagpahayag ng kanilang matinding pagtutol. Kasama riyan ang mariing pagtutol naming mga katutubo, at katunayan po, kami ay patuloy na hihiling sa tanggapan ng DENR upang tuluyang ikansela ang ECC.
“Nalalabag na rin ang aming mga karapatan bilang katutubo sa aming mga pamayanan sapagkat nagtatrabaho na ang mga Chinese sa aming lugar. Hindi na kami makapanisid sa mga ilog sapagkat putik na yung mga ilog. Kasabay niyan ay nagtayo sila ng mga palikuran na ang kanilang mga dumi ay doon na sa amin tinatapon. Kaya maganda ikansela yung ECC kasabay imbestigahan yung Chinese sa aming lugar, dahil sila yung nagpapadumi ng kalikasan, sila ang sumisira ng kalikasan. Gusto nila kunin ang aming lupain ninuno.”
A project drowning in controversy
The Kaliwa Dam project has been controversial since its conceptualization due to its expected environmental impacts and effects on the ancestral lands and sacred dwellings of several communities from the Dumagat-Remontado indigenous peoples. The project is described by the tribe as vehemently encroaching on their ancestral domains, especially the communities of Baykuran, Makid-ata, together with the town of Yokyok in General Nakar, Quezon and Daraitan, Tanay, Rizal.
Last July 9, families in Kiborosa received compensation packages amounting to Php 4,995,000 from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), as seen in a Facebook post on the agency’s official page. A Chinese company, China Energy Engineering Corporation, was selected as the contractor of the project, a decision that was questioned and “flagged for irregularities” by the Commission on Audit (COA). Recent developments in the Kaliwa Dam site reveal that construction has started on a tunnel in Terresa.
‘Ipakansela ang ECC’
In 2023, the MWSS turned over a “construction disturbance fee” of Php 160,000,000 to the Rizal and Quezon Indigenous Peoples Organizations (IPOs) prior to the issuance of the permit. This has left indigenous tribes in a complicated situation, with some claiming that the disruption fee “was unjustly distributed among indigenous people living far from the site of Kaliwa Dam.”
“Ipakansela na ang ECC. Bakit po? Dahil po ngayong taon ay naglabas ng payong pagtutol ang Sangguniang Bayan ng Infanta. Kasabay nito, naglabas din ng mariing pagtutol ang Sangguniang lalawaigan ng Quezon. Kaya po batay dito, sinasabi sa ECC na kailangan kumuha ng mga kaukulang pag sangayon sa mga lokal na pamahalaan ang MWSS. Yan yung patunay na hindi sila nakakuha. Kaya walang dahilan ang DENR na ipakansela na ang ECC,” said Mudyat.
“Kayo rin po na mga taga-rito sa Metro Manila ay lulubog dahil sa pagkasira ng kalikasan,” stressed Calzado.
“Ayaw po ba natin magtulungan para pangalagaan ang natitira nating kalikasan?”—Alyansa ng mga Mamamayan Laban sa Mapaniil na Dam (ALMA! DAM) and STOP Kaliwa Dam Network/MF
References:
- https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1161447/impact-report-on-kaliwa-dam-deficient-not-conclusive
- https://www.philstar.com/business/science-and-environment/2018/11/29/1872521/kaliwa-dam-will-destroy-sierra-madre-biodiversity
- https://www.facebook.com/NCIPportal/posts/pfbid02RqywXTFVs9Lm7FhfwnSznRQubCNxs89pV45jYd3A8EuAqw6JbBetxLCsAP7q29Pyl
- https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/704948/coa-questions-award-of-kaliwa-dam-contract-to-chinese-firm/story/
- https://globalvoices.org/2021/09/14/china-funded-kaliwa-dam-in-the-philippines-flagged-for-irregularities/
- https://www.philstar.com/business/2023/02/22/2246630/mwss-turns-over-p160-million-kaliwa-dam-construction
