DECLARATION OF INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY AGAINST

JALAUR RIVER MULTIPURPOSE PROJECT PHASE II

1st International Solidarity Mission in Jalaur River
18 July 2016
We, the delegates to the 1st International Solidarity Mission in Jalaur River, representing
different organizations from 5 countries (Belgium, Germany, Italy, Philippines, and South
Korea), stand united with the Tumandok people of Panay Island, also known as the Panay
Bukidnon, in their struggle against the Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project II.
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT:
The Philippine government is set on implementing the Jalaur River Multipurpose Project
Phase II (JRMP II), which had its groundbreaking ceremony led by President Benigno Aquino
III on February 2013. The project will construct a PHP11.212 billion dam in the ancestral
domain of the indigenous peoples (IP), the Tumandok, in Calinog town, province of Iloilo. This
approved project will be funded by a PHP8.94 billion loan from The Export-Import Bank of
Korea or Korea Eximbank and the remaining PHP2.2 billion will be the Philippine counterpart
which in turn be taken out from the Filipino peoples taxes.
The Philippine Government and its agencies, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and
the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) have been less than upfront with
regards this project. It was only when the organization TUMANDUK together with other
cause-oriented organizations raised the hue and cry about the lack of proper processes, did
the public know that the project never underwent the process of seeking the acceptance of
the stakeholders, including the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) from the IP,
Tumandok, who will be directly affected by the said project.
The stakeholders include: the 16 IP communities which will be directly and indirectly affected,
the population in 30 additional communities identified as crash areas and 25 municipalities
from the province of Iloilo and within the Jalaur River Basin vulnerable to flooding. Not to
mention the rest of the nation who will shoulder and pay the costs of the megadam in Jalaur
River. None of these groups were ever informed about the impacts of the proposed project,
nor were they involved in the decision-making processes that is required of ODA-sourced
projects.
There was no prior consultation because NIA's feasibility study was already submitted to the
Korea Eximbank in November 2011, even before the first FPIC process was initiated in
January 2012. This was followed by a series of consultative assemblies culminating in the
signing of the so-called FPIC for the dam construction on August 2015. There was no free
consent because those in the affected communities have been and promised incentives in
exchange for their support while those opposed to the project were subjected to threats and
intimidation. Neither was this informed because only the projects supposed advantages
were presented while withholding the dangers and negative impacts.
As a consequence of this deception, not only will the Tumandok be displaced from their
ancestral domain, the project will also result in the dissolution of their cultural identity and
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indigenous knowledge and practices which are rooted in the land. The construction of the
dam will also destroy ancestral landmarks, burial grounds, sacred spots, and sites for rituals.
Our second concern is the lack of a comprehensive options assessment that is supposed to
be part of the decision-making processes for the stakeholders, as provided by the report
released in the year 2000 by the World Commission on Dams. A mega-dam project poses a
wide range of concerns including the structural integrity of the infrastructure itself, its longterm impact on ecosystems and the social and economic costs to vulnerable sectors. In the
long run, the question that the Philippine government must answer is: Will the cost benefit
ratio of building a megadam in Jalaur River be worth it?
Concerned IP leaders and IP rights advocates initiated an environmental investigation along
the dam site. Based on their initial survey, the site revealed questionable structural integrity in
the foundation for the dam. The faults, joints and talus piles that were observed within the
1.25 kilometer stretch of the river imply a geologic condition which requires particular
engineering design and technology. The investigation also yielded information on the diversity
of species and presence of a few endemic animals, some of which are classified as
endangered and critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of
Nature (such as the Visayan writhed-billed hornbill, Red-vented cockatoo, and Visayan warty
pig), and whose habitats will be greatly affected by the megadam.
These findings were also corroborated by the opinions and synthesis report done by Dr.
Ricarte S. Javelosa, a geologist and geomorphologist expert. He pointed out that the project
lacked a comprehensive Engineering and Seismic Risk Assessment (ESRA) and Engineering
Geological and Geohazard Assessment (EGGAR) which are necessary in ensuring the
structural integrity of the site and of the dam itself, considering that the proposed megadam
sits on a fault line. The project also did not have a comprehensive hyrdrogeological study and
groundwater vulnerability assessment which are relevant to both groundwater supply and
control and ground-water contamination.
And third, stakeholders in the affected downstream communities have raised concerns as to
the impacts of possible flooding on their lives and their livelihoods. The government claims
that one of the objectives of the JRMP II is to provide irrigation water to farmers, but
according to studies made by the Jalaur River for the People Movement, the so-called
targeted ricelands for irrigation has been converted, in the process of conversion, or will be
converted into real estate purposes.
Thus taking into account all these concerns raised by the Tumandok people and other
stakeholders, we the delegates to the 1st International Solidarity Mission in Jalaur River,
support and stand in one with them in their struggle against the implementation of JRMP II.
OUR CALLS:
1. We call on the Philippine government, its agencies and the Armed Forces of the
Philippines to respect the Tumandok peoples rights to their ancestral domain and their
processes of decision-making. The Tumandok people must be able to make informed
decisions freely, without coercion, bribery and promises from the government, its
agencies, and the military. A genuine FPIC process must be observed.
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2. We call for the stop of the militarization in the countryside, the pull-out of state security
forces, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police's
Regional Mobile Group and Special Action Forces, and paramilitary groups from IP
communities, and the investigation of human rights violations that were committed to
coerce the IPs into consenting to the JRMP II.
3. We moreover call on the Philippine government to carry out the prompt indemnification
of IPs and other victims for their properties damaged in the course of the
implementation of the JRMP II.
4. We also call on the Duterte administration to review all development projects, including
mega-dams and reforestation programs, intended to be implemented in the Tumandok
peoples ancestral domain and to end projects which desacralize the Tumandok
peoples cultural identity and violate their rights.
5. And we call on the South Korean Government, the loan-provider for the JRMP II, to
deeply evaluate the issues that were raised by the IP communities and other
stakeholders and to take necessary actions to address these concerns, including
withholding of funds unless these concerns are properly addressed.
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. We recommend that an independent study on the feasibility of the proposed Jalaur
River Dam be done in order to assess the proposed dams structural integrity, its
impacts on the ecosystems along the Jalaur River, its socio-economic impacts on the
IP communities that will be directly and indirectly affected by the dam including the
downstream communities.
2. We also recommend that an exhaustive and comprehensive assessment be made on
options and alternatives to the mega-dam. Of particular interest would be to assess the
feasibility of small and micro-dams that are less hazardous and can still provide
irrigation water to farming communities. Another option would be the rehabilitation of
existing irrigation systems.
3. We further recommend that proposed dam projects in Jalaur and in Pan-ay rivers
comply with the guidelines in the final report of the World Commission on Dams in
2000; that the process of free, prior and informed consent be strictly observed; and
that international guidelines and safeguards on dam-building and projects related to
ODA be followed as well.
Organisations & Advocates
Alliance of Health Workers, Philippines Anakbayan, Philippines Anakpawis-Panay, Philippines Asian Peasant Coalition,
global Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Panay, Philippines Dagsaw Panay-Guimaras Indigenous Peoples Network,
Philippines Banana Chips Planters and Workers Association, Philippines Fair Trade Foundation Panay, Philippines
Fisheries and Marine Environment Research Institute, global Jalaur River for the Peoples Movement, Philippines
KARAPATAN-Negros KARAPATAN-Panay, Philippines Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Philippines National Union of
Peoples Lawyers, Philippines Oikos Ecological Movement, Philippines Paghugpong sang mga Mangunguma sa Panay
kag Guimaras, Philippines Panay Fair Trade Center, Philippines Peoples Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, South
Korea Philippines Sugar Workers Solidarity-Negros, Philippines Promotion of Church Peoples Response, Philippines
SELDA, Philippines Sine Panayanon, Philippines Philippine Task Force for Indigenous Peoples Rights, Philippines
TUMANDUK, Philippines Third World Health Aid, Belgium Mandacaru Onlus, Italy Hannah Wolf, Germany Jude
Mangilog, Philippines Ma. Arve Baez, Philippines Mar Anthony Balani, Philippines

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