BY PRINCE GOLEZ
Manila Reporter
MANILA – President Benigno Aquino III defended the P11.2-billion Jalaur River Multipurpose Project – Phase II (JRMP-II) in Calinog, Iloilo against those opposing it.
Those against the mega dam project are also against Ilonggo farmers who will benefit from the “uninterrupted irrigation water supply” once it sees completion, he said during his State of the Nation Address (Sona) yesterday afternoon.
Ilonggo Senate president Franklin Drilon, an ally of the President, was instrumental in securing a P8.9-billion loan from South Korea to partly fund the project.
“Kontra sila sa magsasaka sa Iloilo na mahigit 50 taong nangarap ng maayos na irigasyon (They are against Iloilo farmers who have been dreaming these past 50 years of better irrigation),” said President Aquino.
These “noisy” critics were making desperate attempts in delaying governance reforms, he said.
Cong. Jerry Treñas of Iloilo City said the President Aquino was right in defending the Jalaur mega dam project.
“Wala man da husto sa ila (The critics got it all wrong),” Treñas said.
IRE OF PANAY SULODNON
In Iloilo, believing that the mega dam project is a means for their communities to enjoy progress, the Panay Sulodnons or Bukidnon people that would be affected by its construction are challenging oppositors to give concrete and palpable alternatives that would counter what the project implementer, National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Region 6, could offer.
The 40-member council of Sulodnon elders that also form the leadership of Hugpong Pumuluyo Para sa Kalinungan kag Kauswagan (People United for Peace and Development) told RMN Radio that they are challenging the oppositors such as leftist groups to give a counter-offer to losing 17,000 jobs, about 75,000 cubic meters of potable water and 32,000 hectares of rice lands that will be irrigated should the mega dam be derailed.
They also threw a potshot at former congressman Augusto Syjuco Jr. whom tribal leaders Leopoldo and Romulo Caballero said was working on schemes and creating various means to derail much-needed projects like the mega dam.
Syjuco, an avowed political nemesis of Senator Drilon who is instrumental in the NIA passing the requirements to implement the project, has employed many tactics to stop the dam’s construction, said the elders.
NIA Region 6, through Engr. Gerardo Corsiga, regional manager and project officer counterpart of the Philippine government in this Korean government-funded undertaking, said the government will deliver on what is in the memorandum of agreement with the Panay Bukidnon people – mainly that the Sulodnons’ ancestral rights will be protected, they will be given financial compensation, they will be provided loans, jobs, and economic development projects such as farm-to-market roads.
Last year, the Supreme Court issued a Writ of Kalikasan against the project. Petitioners led by Syjuco claimed the dam will adversely affect the environment and the livelihood of those living in the area./PN
