Quezon City – About 250 people including indigenous peoples (IPs), urban poor organizations, student and youth associations, workers, parish and church members, non-government organizations, fisherfolk, affected residents of Rizal and Quezon areas, and other organized sectors based in Metro Manila gathered for a National Sectoral Consultation against the Kaliwa Dam project on November 4 at the Tandang Sora Hall in UP Diliman. The urgent consultation aims to amplify the voices of affected sectors, articulate concerns, and create a coordinated strategy to stop the Kaliwa Dam construction, which threatens vital ecosystems, ancestral lands, and the livelihoods of local communities.
Ma. Clara “Robilyn” Dullas, President of Samahan ng Kababaihang Dumagat ng Sierra Madre (K-GAT) expressed the importance of solidarity in the movement and strength in numbers saying, ”It’s necessary for various groups to come together to show the government that many opposed this project—not just us indigenous people. This will also demonstrate a strong force of opposition and highlight the significant impact it can have on the government if they witness consultation efforts like this.”
( ”Kailangan na ang hantungan ay iba’t ibang grupo na ang magsama-sama upang maipakita sa pamahalaan na marami ang tumututol sa proyektong nabanggit at hindi lamang kaming mga katutubo; upang maipakita rin ang malakas na puwersa sa pagtutol at malaki ang epekto nito sa pamahalaan kung makikita nila ang ganitong mga hakbang ng konsultasyon.”)
During the consultation, organizing group ALMA! DAM laid out the violations by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), the primary reason for the continued opposition by IPs and various sectors; the chronology of events that started the Kaliwa Dam project; and current updates on the construction site. IPs and community leaders shared firsthand testimonies about the dam’s impact on their lives and culture in the Rizal and Quezon areas. They voiced concerns regarding displacement by flooding and, the loss of cultural heritage and traditional livelihoods. Members from various sectors also shared the potential social and ecological costs of the dam, emphasizing the importance of Sierra Madre as a natural barrier against typhoons and other natural disasters.
“The Kaliwa Dam is a national project intended to address the impending water crisis in the country. However, it requires careful consideration to ensure that it provides a sustainable solution and that the negative effects on the environment, socio-cultural aspects, economy, and health are outweighed by its benefits, stressed Conrado Vargas, convenor of ALMA! DAM.
”Ang Kaliwa Dam ay pambansang proyekto na tutugon sa napipintong krisis ng tubig sa bansa, ngunit kailangan ng masusing pagtitimbang kung ang proyekto ay magbibigay nga ng sustinableng solusyon at ang mga negatibong epekto nito sa kalikasan, sosyo-kultura, ekonomiya, kalusugan ay masis igurong mas mataas ang kapakinabangan.”
The National Sectoral Consultation concluded with a list of actions and strategies to implement in the following months to strengthen the campaign, a unified statement strongly opposing the construction and a call to suspend the Kaliwa Dam. Highlighted were the role of the National Commission of Indigenous People (NCIP), MWSS, and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), in the division of indigenous communities and possible construction of the dam, therefore the call of various sectors on accountability for violations of the law.
Participants pushed for stronger protections for the Sierra Madre and more inclusive processes in large-scale infrastructure decision-making. The attendees called on the national government, concerned agencies, and the public to support their efforts in safeguarding the environment and upholding the rights of indigenous peoples. They seek an audience with key decision-makers to present alternative solutions that address water needs without endangering communities and ecosystems.
The results of this consultation are expected to strengthen the campaign against the Kaliwa Dam project and put a stop to its construction. The coalition’s next steps involve bringing the issue to the national government in the coming months with a major activity, a National Day of Protest Against Kaliwa Dam, involving thousands of IPs and their support groups.
Major activities of ALMA! Dam this year included a rally in front of the DENR and MWSS on Aug. 8-9 resulting in a dialogue with DENR Undersecretary Carlos David on Aug. 8, and a meeting with Usec David, his team and the MWSS on Sept. 16. During the meeting, the DENR and MWSS directed the coalition to the local government office of Region IV-A for a cancellation permit on the Kaliwa Dam construction. On Sept. 26, about 700 STOP Kaliwa Dam campaign advocates participated in a motorcade in front of the Kaliwa Dam Access Road gate at Sitio Kiborosa, Brgy. Magsaysay, Infanta, Quezon to celebrate Save Sierra Madre Day, but the entrance to the Access Road was barricaded and a tree planting activity was stopped by armed PNP Region IV-A officers. On Oct. 21, the coalition went to the Quezon Provincial Board for a prayer rally and a dialogue with Governor Helen Tan to negotiate legal actions that can be done to permanently halt the dam project.
The Kaliwa Dam is part of the government’s efforts to address water shortages in Metro Manila, but it is among the destructive projects in Sierra Madre, which will affect the Dumagat-Remontado indigenous peoples, the towns of Infanta, Real, General Nakar in Quezon Province ; and the towns of Tanay, Morong, Baras and Teresa in Rizal. It has and will continue to destroy biodiversity , as well as the livelihoods of forest-dependent IPs and local communities, will add further risk of landslides and flooding to low-lying communities and Metro Manila, and will make communities more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. It has faced continuous opposition with its irreversible impacts on the lives of indigenous Dumagat-Remontado communities and the Sierra Madre Mountain Range, considered the “backbone of Luzon” for its ecological significance and role in disaster resilience.
In 2022, the project was suspended because the DENR put the ECC for the dam construction on hold , but in March 2024, MWSS Administrator Leonor C. Cleofas announced that the construction progress has already hit a milestone of 30% and is on track for completion by 2027. As of this writing, there has been no official announcement from the MWSS of a suspension construction, but local sources at the site reported that laborers/workers and representatives of the Chinese contractor China Energy Engineering Corporation Limited have pulled out their equipment and machines starting October 14. The China contractor also invited local workers to join them in a Pangasinan project. Local sources have claimed that the construction of the Kaliwa Dam is set to continue in January 2025.
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The Alyansa ng mga Mamamayan Laban sa Mapaniil na Dam or ALMA! DAM is a coalition of various local and national organizations, institutions, sectors, and indigenous groups opposing and actively campaigning against the construction of the controversial New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam (Kaliwa Dam Project) in the Southern Sierra Madre Mountain Range.
Para Sa Mga Katutubo at Kalikasan, STOP Kaliwa Dam Network (SKDN)*
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*For the indigenous people and nature, STOP Kaliwa Dam Network (SKDN)