BY PRINCE GOLEZ, Manila Reporter and FREDA MAE SORSANO
MANILA – The national government is bribing indigenous peoples (IPs) into supporting a risky mega dam project in Calinog, Iloilo, claimed a lawyer of groups opposing what is being touted as the biggest dam outside Luzon when completed.
President Benigno Aquino III must not “create an irreversible tragedy for the people of Iloilo and Capiz,” warned Atty. Cheryl Daytec.
In his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday, Aquino summarily branded as anti-development those opposed to the P11.2-billion Jalaur River Multipurpose Project – Phase II.
But according to Daytec, volunteer lawyer of the National Union of People’s Lawyers, leaders of indigenous peoples in Calinog were being bribed to give their consent.
In Iloilo, John Ian Alenciaga of the Jalaur River for the People Movement backed Daytec’s claim. He said elders were being rained down with “false” promises such as a hospital and even a church.
‘DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN’
Daytec described the mega dam project as “an environmental disaster waiting to happen.”
Aquino mentioned the project in his Sona to justify his Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) that the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional.
The mega dam received P450 million in DAP funds.
Daytec said Aquino appeared to be blaming segments of Calinog IPs who are against the project for fear of losing their livelihood and their ancestral lands.
She reminded the President that under the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, IPs must first give their consent to any project that would affect them.
BRAINWASHED?
On Sunday, the head of the 40-member council of elders of the Sulodnons or Panay-Bukidnons in Calinog debunked claims they were not consulted regarding the mega dam.
Even before the project was presented to the Iloilo provincial government and other authorities, there was already a series of dialogues, consultations and negotiations regarding their ancestral rights since the middle of 2012 until 2013, said Leopoldo Caballero, leader of the IP organization Hugpong Pumuluyo Para sa Kalinungan kag Kauswagan (People United for Peace and Development).
But if Alenciaga were to be believed, Caballero and his group were bribed.
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Region 6, the project implementer, “ginadala kag ginalagaw nila ang pila ka mga elders sa mga tourist spots,” Alenciaga claimed.
He also said Cabellero and his group were not the only IPs in Calinog.
He said the Jalaur River for the People Movement is in touch with what he called the Tumandok organization which also has its own elders and members.
Alenciaga claimed the so-called consultation of NIA with the IPs only happened once and only the elders were present, not the whole community of IPs.
Worse, only the positive side of the mega dam project was presented, he added.
Alenciaga said Caballero and his group are but victims of half-truths given them.
“We challenge the NIA to show to the IPs all sides of the project – not just its advantages. Indi niyo pag-itago sa ila ang kamatuoran (Don’t hide from them the truth),” he said.
If indeed the NIA had consulted the IP elders, Alenciaga added, these elders should have relayed the message to the community and not just make a stand on the project on their people’s behalf.
‘PANAY CAN’T HOST MEGA DAM’
If Daytec were to be believed, Panay “cannot host a mega dam” beause it is just an “island.”
No island in the world hosts a megadam, she said in a Facebook post a day after President Aquino delivered his Sona.
Daytec also said the project sits on an active fault line.
In 1948, it moved and caused the Lady Caycay earthquake, “the only earthquake in the world with a name,” according to Daytec.
The Lady Caycay earthquake occurred on January 25, 1948. It was recorded at magnitude 8.2 and caused damage to Panay Island. Tsunami was also reported.
This earthquake, although one of the biggest events, had very sparse intensity and tsunami accounts. This may be attributable to the fact that when the earthquake struck, the country was just recovering from the effects of World War II.
Alenciaga said he was saddened but not surprised that Caballero, whom he claimed used to have reservations about the mega dam, changed his mind and now supportive of it.
“The elders were deceived. They were not given the true picture of the project,” he said.
Meanwhile, Daytec claimed “military and police detachments” were installed in the area “to stifle public opposition.”
According to NIA, the mega dam project will benefit the city and province of Iloilo with a projected delivery of 75,000 cubic meters of potable water and 32,000 hectares of rice lands will be irrigated.
The mega dam will also generate 10 to 15 megawatts renewable power source, it added.
Caballero, also the chairman of Gurangan, Macaroy and Agcalaga IP, said they are hopeful their lives will improve. They see the project as a chance for community members to get employed./PN
