Project

 ECC covers the construction and operation of gravity dam along the Kaliwa river with a dam height of
60 meters referred to a riverbed elevation of 100 meters.

It will also cover a reservoir surface area of 291 hectares with a gross reservoir volume of 57 million
cubic meters at full supply level.

Kaliwa Dam aims to complement Angat Dam, Metro Manila’s main water source. It is expected to supply
an additional 600 million liters of water per day to the capital.

Alternative options
backs the rehabilitation of Wawa Dam in Rodriguez, Rizal to address the water shortage in Metro
Manila
and neighboring areas. Wawa Dam can provide 1.5 billion liters of water daily while Kaliwa Dam can
only produce 600 million liters.
Japanese Proposal
proposal by a Japanese firm to construct a weir, which is a 7-meter-high wall as compared to China’s 60-
meter-high dam, for a much lower cost.

both Europe and Japan have offered to lend the Philippines the money needed for the construction of
the dam, and have actually offered less onerous alternatives through their repayment schemes, which
were not considered by the government. Interestingly, Japan even came up with a cheaper substitute,
which will come at practically no cost to the government with none of the environmental hazards the
Kaliwa Dam can potentially cause.
It proposed the creation of a weir, which is significantly cheaper and won’t have to displace the
indigenous peoples living in the area. The government has since rejected this idea.
Definition of weir. A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow
characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level

Compliance
the ECC is issued by the DENR once it finds that the proposed project satisfies the requirements of the
Environment Impact Statement (EIS) System under PD 1586 and the Implementing Rules and
Regulations.
FPIC process allows the Indigenous population to participate in the decision-making process and get
consulted before development on ancestral land begins.
Violations
Failed the process of Free Prior and Informed Consent. FPIC is set to be completed only during
November.
Chinese contractor and MWSS (Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System) issue an affidavit of no
complaint, a requirement for the issuance of ECC, when there are many complaints lodged against it? The
LGU cannot possibly certify that the project is compatible with its land use plan because it covers
ancestral domain and impacts on the health, safety and environment of the indigenous peoples and their
lands,” he said in a statement. Neri colmenares
DENR awarded ECC October 11 2019. the EMB disregards the Environmental Impact Statement
system's requirement for a socially acceptable project by not acknowledging the incomplete FPIC
Location of the projects are in an environmentally critical area covered by Proclamation No. 573 (1969),
Proclamation No. 1636 in 1977, and NIPAS law ( the National Integrated Protected Areas System Law),
as it is traditionally occupied by the Dumagat-Remontado cultural tribes and endangered or threatened
species of indigenous Philippine Wildlife. 1
Project also covers the ancestral domains of Dumagat Remontado indigenous communities covering two
Certificate of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADTs).
International Issues
Waiving PH sovereignty. Beijing and Hong Kong will have jurisdiction, and their arbitration rules will
be followed. These provisions triggered a backlash because of the belief that they were tantamount to the
Philippines waiving its sovereign immunity.
According to SAJ Carpio, the ownership of the Philippines of the gas-rich Reed Bank may be threatened
because of the Chico River loan agreement provisions, saying that should the Philippines default on its
loan, its recourse would be to pay China with the gas and oil found in Reed Bank.
Ownership of reed bank. Under the Oil and Exploration Development Act of 1972, as
amended, where the Department of Energy granted a service contract to a private entity to exploit the
resources of Reed Bank. The law essentially proclaimed oil and gas found in the Reed Bank as
patrimonial assets, which are properties owned by the Philippines that are not for public use, public
service, or the development of national wealth.
template for future loan agreements that the Philippines enters into, effectively compromising our
patrimonial assets.

Effect
Displacement of indigenous communities.
The lack of specific rehabilitation and activities to address the negative impacts on biodiversity,
property, culture, health, and livelihood – which can be worsened by the changing climate and effects of
forced displacement – is
causing fear among affected residents.
1
Stop kaliwa dam network
Economic Viability – barely met ( NEDA)
1. the project’s estimated economic internal rates of return (i.e., 18%-20%) were hardly above
the government’s passing rate of 15% at the time.
2.
3. NEDA evaluation found that the NCWSP and Kaliwa dam demonstrated poor financial
prospects. Tellingly, the project was estimated to cost its proponents far more than what they
could expect to receive from the venture’s operations (see Table 2). In paragraph 84 of the
evaluation, NEDA noted that this could risk increasing water tariffs, if MWSS passed on some of
the financial burden of the project to downstream concessionaires.
Reservation of NEDA (National Economic Development Authority
1. Sedimentation risks (Pars. 26, 62): Based on prior studies, NEDA acknowledged that the
Kaliwa Dam could face “a possible short dam lifespan” due to the high rate of sedimentation.
2. Weak accounting of spillover costs (Pars. 64, 66): NEDA emphasized that its economic
evaluation did not account for “environment and ecological costs” as well as “social and
heritage costs” resulting from the dam’s construction.
3. No downstream impacts (Par. 78): NEDA underscored that its analysis was not able to
assess the adverse downstream impacts of the project in the Agos river basin in Quezon
province.
4. Costs possibly higher (Par. 85): NEDA recognized that the dam’s cost could escalate
significantly due to the project’s location in an area prone to “severe erosion and earthquake
hazards.”

Pollutants
Dam reservoirs are a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, most notably methane, which is up to
30 times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere and causing global warming.
Large dams emit enormous amounts of greenhouse gases during construction.

Legal Basis
Philippine Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) system indicates no person, partnership, or corporation
shall operate any environmentally critical project (ECP) or any project within an environmentally critical
area (ECA) without first securing the Environmental Compliance Certificate.
Review of EIS Report
Retired US scientist Ruben Guieb, who reviewed the EIS report for the Philippine Movement for Climate
Justice (PMCJ), also said the project's EIS failed to quantify the proposed project's significant
environmental destruction, particularly on forest land, as well as on fish and wildlife habitat destruction
and the loss of threatened and endangered species.