SSRN Id3748391

Working Paper Series No.
22
Original Research Paper
May 2020
Mapping Anti-Dam Movements: The Politics of Water Reservoir

Construction and Hydropower Development Projects in the Philippines
Fernan Talamayan
Graduate Institute of Social Research and Cultural Studies, National Chiao Tung University
ftalamayan.srcs07g@nctu.edu.tw
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3748391

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Talamayan: Mapping Anti-Dam Movements ICCS W ki g Pa e N .22
Mapping Anti-Dam Movements: The Politics of Water Reservoir Construction and

Hydropower Development Projects in the Philippines
Fernan Talamayan
Graduate Institute of Social Research and Cultural Studies, National Chiao Tung University
Issues surrounding water reservoir construction and hydropower development in the

Philippines provide glimpses of the marginalization of indigenous peoples (IPs). For the sake
of development, state-sponsored mega dam projects encroach ancestral lands and ultimately
threaten IPs existence. Hence, while Filipinos from highly urbanized cities recognize the need
to increase the countr s water supply and electricity generation, such infrastructure projects
are always met with resistance. Using the Global Atlas of Environmental Justice (EJAtlas)
database, this paper mapped the mega dam projects in the Philippines that denied or will
potentially deny IPs rights over water resources and sustainable livelihood. At the same time,
it identified several resistance movements against these projects and examined the factors that
contributed to their outcomes. Particular attention was given to the actors involved in various
dam-related conflicts, as their relationship and actions are deemed crucial in understanding the
consistent denial of IPs voice in political processes. The research confirmed the findings of
several case studies that tell the rampant violations of the Freedom, Prior, and Informed
Consent (FPIC) policy across the country. It also found that influential members and
supporters of anti-dam movements are commonly red-tagged by the government a state
practice that legitimizes the surveillance, harassment, or murder of members or supporters of
progressive organizations. Through the mapping of the anti-dam movements, the paper
exhibited the state s disconcerting interpretation of the common good, as the Manila-centric
or urban-centric interpretation of such phrase invariably causes the IPs marginalization.
Keywords: Hydropower, dam, indigenous peoples, environmentalism, resistance, EJAtlas
Let me be very clear to the citizens. You have every right to protest if it places your lives in
jeopardy, but if the safeguards are there between your concerns and the crisis that ou re trying
to avoid, I will use the extraordinary powers of the presidenc . These are the words uttered
by President Rodrigo Duterte last October 2019 as he pushed for the construction of the New

Centennial Water Source (NCWS)-Kaliwa Dam to bring an end to Metro Manila water
shortage. The President referred to the project as the government s last resort to have water
for Manila (Bueza, 2019). In his public speeches, however, one would gather that he was
convinced that there were no better alternatives to the Kaliwa Dam Project. Also, recognizing
that the proposed solution posed a threat to Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) and the
environment, Duterte commented, It might create some danger or damage, but that is not my
concern. My concern is the welfare, the greatest good for the greatest number. That is
democrac (Corrales, 2019; Ranada, 2019).
These statements of the President reflect the Philippine government s position concerning
indigenous communities and the exploitation of natural resources. In essence, it is ready to
implement infrastructure projects that will secure the countr s water and energy supply at the
expense of the minorities and the environment. As was the case in the Kaliwa Dam Project,
apart from manifesting a complete disregard for its environmental and ecological costs, the
President also expressed willingness to use e propriation or outright police po er to ensure
the mega dam s fruition. It must be noted that the use of police force to confiscate IPs ancestral
lands will be a clear betrayal of the The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 (IPRA),
which mandates the state to recogni e and promote all the rights of Indigenous Cultural
Communities/Indigenous Peoples (The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act, 1997). It will also
violate the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent or FPIC, the international human right standard
that ensures peoples right to self-determination (UN Department of Economic and Social
Affairs, 2016a).
The marginalization and discrimination of IPs in the Philippines are deeply entrenched in its
political, social, and economic fabric. A quick trip down the memory lane informs that their
oppression, dispossession, and displacement dates back to the countr s Spanish colonial years.
Fast and Richardson (1979) wrote that the introduction of a legal system, a framework that the
tradition-oriented Indios neither accepted nor understood, left the Indios dispossessed of
their land (p. 39). When the Spanish rule ended in the late nineteenth century, a number of
revolutionary leaders replaced their former masters as they abused their new power and
continued the practice of land grabbing. ( Cuestiones en relación con las corporaciones
religiosas, 1931 in Schumacher, 1982, p. 448). Today, while the 1987 Philippine Constitution

and international law provide for the protection of IPs fundamental human rights, the IPs
remain to live a precarious life as they constantly confront threats of loss of ancestral lands and
destruction of tradition, identity, and culture (UNDP, 2013).
There exists a large corpus of research studies on the connection between resource extraction
and the displacement and dispossession of IPs in the Philippines. However, issues on
hydropower projects and anti-dam movements in the Philippines have been assessed only to a
very limited extent. Previous studies have almost exclusively focused on the countr s mining
industry. They reflected on the political economy of the mining sector (Orfenio, 2009; Camba,
2015), examined different anti-mining campaigns (Holden, 2005; Holden & Jacobson, 2007;
Camba, 2016; Nem Singh & Camba, 2016) and the laws that supposedly protect the IPs
(Molintas, 2004; Cariño, 2005; Castillo & Alvarez-Castillo, 2009; Doyle, 2020), and adopted
David Harve s theory of accumulation by dispossession (Holden, Nadeau & Jacobson, 2011)
in their study of both the mining industry and the IPs. Mostly, in these works, hydropower
investments and large dam defenders were only mentioned in passing. Earlier works on
hydropower projects and anti-dam movements in the Philippines centered on the evolution of
the FPIC policy and practice (Cariño & Colchester, 2010; Ibabao, Baliao & Lizada, 2013), as
well as the political ecology or ecosocial problems of foreign-funded dam projects (Kim,
2010). The most recent work (Delina, 2020) sheds light on indigenous environmental defenders
and the legacy of Macli-ing Dulag, a Cordilleran hero who was assassinated for opposing the
late dictator Ferdinand Marcos’
Marcos Chico
Kaliwa DamDam
River Project.
Project.
Thus, while there is a considerable body of literature on the displacement and dispossession of
Philippine IPs, discussions about mega dam projects and anti-dam dissent remain scant.
Despite the volume of cases of intimidation and assassinations of anti-dam IPs and activists, as
Delina (2020) notes, little is known in scholarly literatures about these illegal activities of the
state (p. 2). More so, there is yet to be any research that maps the anti-dam movements in the
country. To address these gaps, the paper uses the Global Atlas of Environmental Justice
(EJAtlas) database to identify various dam-related conflicts and water management issues in
the country. To go beyond the data extracted from the EJAtlas, the study also refers to other
sources of information as it looks into the politics and relationship of the state, investors, IPs,

and environmental defenders. It analyzes the historical, social, political, economic, and
ecological conditions that constantly subject IPs to displacement and dispossession.
It is also important to note that several civil society organizations (CSOs) support the resistance
to mega dam projects. The Philippine civil society, regarded as among the world’s “most
vibrant and advanced, engage in activities that generally promote the rights and welfare of
those underserved by the government (Asian Development Bank, 2013; Menon, 2018, p. 76 in
Cagney, 2018). They are organized in different umbrella groups, “most of which are organized
according to sector, such as federations or alliances of organizations of workers or trade unions,
farmers, fishers, urban poor, women, indigenous peoples, and ouths (Asian Development
Bank, 2013). They may also be grouped based on geographical area, issues, and causes (i.e.,
anti-mining and anti-dam movements). This paper will give an overview of the civil society’s
involvement in dam-related conflicts across the country.
To describe the research subject and the type of data used for the investigation, the next section
gives a brief background of the EJAtlas, followed by a definition of who the IPs are in the
Philippines. Certain provisions of IPRA and FPIC are also highlighted to trace the common
human rights violations committed by the state, investors, and mega dam developers. Other
parts of the paper are dedicated to the mapping of the mega dam projects and dam-related
conflicts. The discussion includes the description and motivations of the dam projects, its
projected or actual impact on the affected communities and ecosystems, as well as the protests
against them. Conclusions will be drawn from the experiences of the identified projects.
Mapping Socio-Environmental Conflicts: The Global Atlas of

Environmental Justice
The Global Atlas of Environmental Justice or EJAtlas is an ongoing project that maps and
catalogs socio-environmental conflicts from all corners of the world. Conflicts are documented
in the EJAtlas using a bottom-up approach. Its database is a product of collaborative work
academic scholars, concerned citizens, informal committees, non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) and other activist groups, who, according to their website, have been documenting
environmental and social injustice and supporting communities on the ground for ears ( Ho

we map: a collaborative process ), contribute to its database and flag up emerging

environmental conflicts across the globe. While it is a collaborative work, an editorial team
checks contributions and homogenizes data to enable the platform s search, filter, and browse
functions.
Figure 1. Water management and dam-related socio-environmental conflicts in the Philippines

as mapped in the EJAtlas.
The EJAtlas offers varieties of options for researchers to search for conflicts by region, country,
type, impact on society, or outcome. It covers socio-environmental issues related to nuclear
power plants, mineral extractions, waste management, biomass and land conflicts, water
management, biodiversity conservation conflicts, and many others. For this research, the filters
water management and dam and water distribution conflicts (see Figure 1) are used to map
and examine socio-environmental conflicts related to water reservoir construction and
hydropower development projects in the Philippines.

The IPs in the Philippines and the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) of
1997
As the paper later maps and analyzes the acts of resistance of IPs (and activists), to understand
their cause and struggle, it is imperative to review how the law defines and supposedly protects
them.
Following the definition provided by the Philippine Republic Act No. 8371 (or the Indigenous
Peoples Right Act of 1997), Section 3, h, the ICCs/IPs are:
a group of people or homogenous societies identified by self-ascription and

ascription by others, who have continuously lived as organized community on
communally bounded and defined territory, and who have, under claims of
ownership since time immemorial, occupied, possessed and utilized such
territories, sharing common bonds of language, customs, traditions and other
distinctive cultural traits, or who have, through resistance to political, social and
cultural inroads of colonization, non-indigenous religions and cultures, became
historically differentiated from the majority of Filipinos.
Note that the law categorically recognizes them as historicall differentiated from the majority
of Filipinos. This perspective of the state would play a role in its definition of the common
good. Section 3, h also states that ICCs/IPs should include:
peoples who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the
populations which inhabited the country, at the time of conquest or colonization,
or at the time of inroads of non-indigenous religions and cultures, or the
establishment of present state boundaries, who retain some or all of their own
social, economic, cultural and political institutions, but who may have been
displaced from their traditional domains or who may have resettled outside their
ancestral domains.

IPRA covers around 14 to 17 million people (belonging to 110 ethnolinguistic groups), a count
based on the estimates of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 2013.
According to the UNDP (2013), most of them are based in Mindanao (61%) and Northern
Luzon (33%), while some are found in the Visayas region.
With regard to their rights, IPRA implements the provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution
to recognize, protect, and promote their cultural communities (Castillo & Alvarez-Castillo,
2009, p. 276). In IPRA s declaration of state policies, Section 2, a, b, c, and e mandate that:
(a) The State shall recognize and promote the rights of ICCs/IPs within the
framework of national unity and development;
(b) The State shall protect the rights of ICCs/IPs to their ancestral domains to
ensure their economic, social and cultural well-being and shall recognize the
applicability of customary laws governing property rights or relations in
determining the ownership and extent of ancestral domain;
(c) The State shall recognize, respect and protect the rights of ICCs/IPs to preserve
and develop their cultures, traditions and institutions. It shall consider these rights
in the formulation of national laws and policies;
(e) The State shall take measures, with the participation of the ICCs/IPs concerned,
to protect their rights and guarantee respect for their cultural integrity, and to ensure
that members of the ICCs/IPs benefit on an equal footing from the rights and
opportunities which national laws and regulations grant to other members of the
population.
Meanwhile, IPRA s Sections 57 and 58 further protect the ICCs/IPs rights to their ancestral
domains. Section 57 ensures the prioritization of ICCs/IPs rights in the utilization of natural
resources within their ancestral domains. According to Section 57, the ICCs/IPs shall have

priorit rights in the harvesting, extraction, development or exploitation of any natural

resources within the ancestral domains. Section 57 also allows limited participation of non-
members of the ICCs/IPs in the development and utilization of the natural resources within
ICCs/IPs ancestral domain, provided that their participation will not exceed 25 years and a
formal and written agreement is entered into with the ICCs/IPs concerned or that the
community, pursuant to its own decision making process, has agreed to allow such operation.
Section 58 gives appropriate agencies and the ICCs/IPs the right to maintain, manage, and
develop critical watersheds, mangroves, wildlife sanctuaries, wilderness, protected areas, forest
cover, or reforestation. Section 58 further states that:
The ICCs/IPs concerned shall be given the responsibility to maintain, develop,

protect and conserve such areas with the full and effective assistance of government
agencies. Should the ICCs/IPs decide to transfer the responsibility over the areas,
said decision must be made in writing. The consent of the ICCs/IPs should be
arrived at in accordance with its customary laws without prejudice to the basic
requirements of existing laws on free and prior informed consent: Provided, that
the transfer shall be temporary and will ultimately revert to the ICCs/IPs in
accordance with a program for technology transfer: Provided, further, That no
ICCs/IPs shall be displaced or relocated for the purpose enumerated under this
section without the written consent of the specific persons authorized to give
consent.
Section 58 makes it clear that non-members of the ICCs/IPs are required to have the consent
of the ICCs/IPs in cases when the ICCs/IPs decide to transfer the responsibility for their
ancestral domains. It also gives ICCs/IPs security against illegal dispossession and
displacement, declaring that no members of their community should be subjected to such
actions without their written consent.
The above provisions of IPRA are in agreement with the UN Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which mandates that activities affecting IPs land and

resources must only proceed with their free, prior and informed consent (Food and Agriculture
Organization, 2014 in Ibabao, Baliao & Lizada, 2013, p. 53). Castillo and Alvarez-Castillo
(2009) provide a list of activities that require FPIC: the exploration, development and use of
natural resources, research and bioprospecting, displacement and relocation, archaeological
explorations, policies affecting the IPs, and the entry of military personnel (p. 277).
Note that Sections 57 and 58, as well as the principles of FPIC, are critical when discussing the
IPs (and their defenders ) issues around state-sponsored mega dam projects. The study will
later demonstrate, a mapping of dam-related conflicts in the Philippines shows that the
government, investors, and mega dam developers commonly violate these provisions. Also,
such a mapping makes apparent the issue concerning the state s definition of the common
good, especially when the state targets ancestral domains for infrastructure projects that will
alleviate the countr s water supply and energy generation problems.
To date, the implementation of IPRA remains questionable. In fact, despite all the guarantees
of IPRA, the IPs remain among the poorest and most disadvantaged peoples in the country
(UNDP, 2013). Like most IPs across the globe, UNDP (2013) notes, they continue to suffer
disproportionately in areas like health, education, and human rights. Worse, even until today,
IPs regularl face discrimination and e clusion. This is mostly the case in water reservoir
construction and hydropower development projects, in which the IPs are consistently denied
of their voice in political processes. Ibabao, Baliao and Lizada (2013) observed, even with
international and national legislations in place, IPs in the Philippines still experience obstacles
in realizing their rights to give or withhold FPIC (p. 50).
Mega Dam Projects and the Anti-Dam Movements in the Philippines

The EJAtlas cataloged six water management and dam conflicts in the Philippines. Four major
issues are in Luzon, while the other two are in Visayas and Mindanao (see Figures 2 and 3).
Note that one of the identified problems (item no. 2) is not directly connected to dam conflicts.
It shows the EJAtlas documentation of the water and sanitation privatization problems in
Metro Manila. Below are the conflicts with their brief description from the said platform:

(1) San Roque Multipurpose Project, Philippines: The largest dam in the country
left thousands of farmers without land and irrigation and brought violence and
extrajudicial killings.
(2) Water and sanitation privatization in metropolitan Manila: Success by

profitability and privatization of profits, the recipe of the World Bank in one of the
biggest metropolitan areas of the world to ensure its vision on the right to ater.
(3) Laiban Dam-New Centennial Water Source Project (NCWS), Quezon,

Philippines: Since (sic) more than 30 years, thousands of indigenous, threatened to
be displaced from their ancestral lands are resisting the Laiban dam project,
planned to solve a corporate water crisis created by urban Metro Manila.
(4) Kaliwa Dam-New Centennial Water Source Project (NCWS), Quezon,

Philippines: While urban Metro Manila demands more and more water, social and
environmental costs are shifted to indigenous rural communities, who in turn
demand to restore the true source of clean water: healthy forests and watersheds.
(5) Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project (JRMPP) Phase II Dam, Iloilo,

Philippines: A mega dam in terms of economic costs, social and environmental
impacts, but with few benefits, mainly for a small elite.
(6) Save Pulangi Alliance (South Pulangi Hydroelectric Power Plant or Pulangi
Fifth Hydropower Plant), Bukidnon province, Mindanao, Philippines:
Environmental defender Margarito Cabal was killed in 2012. However, the fifth
hydropower project in the Pulangi River that he fought against seems to be going
ahead in 2018, for a 250 MW dam.
This section will elaborate further on the dam conflicts documented by the EJAtlas, thus
leaving out item no. 2. The discussion will explain in detail the background of the dam projects,
10

the stakeholders and relevant government actors, the environmental justice organizations and
their supporters, and the forms, impacts, and outcome of anti-dam movements across the
country.
Figure 2. Water management and dam conflicts in in Luzon. The author manually added the
numbers.
Figure 3. Dam conflicts in Visayas and Mindanao. The author manually added the numbers.
11

San Roque Multipurpose Project

Described by the EJAtlas as the largest and most controversial dam project in the Philippines,
the San Roque Multipurpose Project (SRMP) or San Roque Dam was built on the lower Agno
River of Pangasinan Province in northern Luzon. It is a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) project
funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC, formerly the Export Import
Bank of Japan or JEXIM) (Kim, 2010, p. 629). It holds a 25-year power purchase agreement
with National Power Corporation in Philippines. It is being operated and maintained by San
Roque Power Corporation (SRPC), a company owned by Marubeni and Kansai Electric Power
Company Ltd (Public-Private Partnership Center, 2019).
Figure 4. “San Roque embankment by Rawen Balmaña (licensed under CC BY-NC-ND).

Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3bT08ec.
The dam was projected to generate power for diverse economic activities and intended to
improve water quality by reducing downstream siltation and flooding in the region (Perez,
2004 in Kim, 2010, p. 629). Briefly describing the design of the project, the EJAtlas informs:
12

The structures, particularly San Roque Dam, were supposedly designed for four
main objectives: electricity generation (345 megawatt capacity), irrigation of
87,000 hectares of land, reduction of floods which destroy crops during the rainy
season. The dam deprived the farmers of San Nicolas, Pangasinan of the Agno
River s overflow, which they had been taking advantage of for irrigation.
According to the EJAtlas, the dam has been approved in 1998 and became operational in May
2003 despite failure to comply with several Philippine laws and JBIC policies on indigenous
people, and despite strong opposition from local communities. In 2001, the Office of the
Presidential Assistant on Indigenous Peoples Affairs released a report that validated claims
that JIBC and SRPC did not obtain the FPIC of the affected IPs (Imhof, 2003, p. 10). Forms
that the farmers signed to complete the sale of their land to NPC were in English a language
that the farmers would not understand. Further, the report revealed, consultations were
conducted only after the project was already under a (p. 10).
The Agno River is the cultural heartland of the Ibaloi people, one of the ICCs/IPs from northern
Luzon. For centuries, the Ibaloi people have been engaging in agriculture, fisheries, and small-
scale gold panning along the said river. Aside from sustaining their communities, the IPs also
regard the fertile land as a space that they use and share with their ancestors and gods (Imhof,
2003, p. 8). Because of the SRMP, 4,400 people were resettled to make way for its construction
(p. 9). JBIC and SRPC promised the resettled population that their standard of living would be
restored or improved after resettlement. However, Imhof (2003) said that even after three years
they were moved, man people are struggling to survive in cramped resettlement sites without
any land or source of income (p. 9). The sentiments of the displaced were encapsulated by
Imhof (2003, p. 9) in an interview with one of the displaced:
Before we moved, we were far better off. Even though we had smaller houses, we
had sources of livelihood. We could eat, grow vegetables, do gold panning. Here
we need money to survive but we have no source of income. Life here is difficult.
13

Echoing Imhof, the EJAtlas reports, The SRPC introduced a livelihood program for people
affected by resettlement, but they were not a great success. They add that the conditions in the
resettlement areas are worsening each year due to the lack of sustainable livelihoods. For
instance, in the Camanggaan resettlement site where 180 families moved after the project,
around 50 households had to sell or rent out their houses because of poverty in 2010.
In addition to the issues of dispossession and displacement, the EJAtlas also reports, the dam
deprived the farmers of San Nicolas, Pangasinan of the Agno River s overflow, which they had
been taking advantage of for irrigation. When the region is struck by strong typhoons (as was
the case in 2003, 2004, and 2009), the dam had to release excess water, which causes massive
flooding and destruction of infrastructure and crops in Pangasinan. According to EJAtlas, the
release of excess water from San Roque Dam in 2009 destroyed not only billions worth of
crops and infrastructure but also caused the death of 57 persons. This contradicts the SRPC s
statement that the SRMP was designed to reduce floods during the rainy season.
Figure 5. Dam is death for us, San Roque Dam, Philippines by International Rivers (licensed
under CC BY-NC-ND). The sign Dam is death for us written to protest the construction of
the SRMP. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2xOZsaO.
14

The construction of the San Roque Dam was not met without resistance. The EJAtlas notes
various forms of mobilization: lawsuits, court cases, judicial activism, official complaint letters
and petitions, public campaigns, and street protests. These acts of resistance were initiated by
affected farmers, IPs, and by various international and local environmental justice
organizations (EJOs). Since the commencement of the SRMP, the Cordillera People´s Alliance
has been at the forefront of the opposition against the project. Local people were organized as
the Tignayan dagiti Mannalon a Mangwayawaya ti Agno (TIMMAWA) or the Peasant
Movement to Free the Agno. TIMMAWA was one of the groups that called on SRPC to
compensate small-scale miners and the displaced families by the project. Their advocacy was
supported by different international EJOs such as International Rivers Network (IRN), Friends
of Earth, and Shalupirip Santahnay Indigenous Peoples Movement (SSIPM).
The conflict also cost the life of Jose Doton or Apo Jose, the leader of TIMMAWA.
Motorcycle-riding assassins killed him on 16 May 2006 near his home in San Nicholas,
Pangasinan. The Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (Hustisya) claimed that before the murder,
Doton has been receiving death threats and subjected to a vilification campaign and
surveillance as he was red-tagged by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The AFP
branded him as a communist sympathizer and a terrorist ( Pangasinan court issues first
conviction for extrajudicial killing, 2008). The death of Doton did not stop Hustisya from
seeking justice, but as the EJAtlas reported, extrajudicial killing made the anti-San Roque Dam
movement weaker.
Note that the state usually legitimizes military surveillance and harassment of progressive
organizations and individuals through red-tagging. Through such a practice, protesters are
accused by the military of being members or supporters of the New Peoples Army (NPA), the
armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) (Holden & Jacobsen, 2007, p.
481, 490). Red-tagging also gives the government the license to kill leaders or members of
protest groups.
15

New Centennial Water Source-Laiban Dam Project

The proposed Laiban Dam is part of the New Centennial Water Source Project (NCWSP), an
infrastructure flagship project under the Build Build Build (BBB) program of the Duterte
administration. Briefly, NCWSP is a China-backed integrated dam system that involves the
construction of a dam at the Kaliwa River (Laiban Dam) in Rizal province, and a smaller dam
downstream (Kaliwa Dam) in Quezon province ( The New Centennial Water Source Project,
2019). It was first conceived in the late 1970s during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos. The
human rights abuses and the mass act of civil disobedience in the latter years of the Marcos
dictatorship halted its construction (Chavez, 2019b).
The Philippine Daily Inquirer (2019, March 14) revealed that despite the cessation of the
project in the 1980s, feasibility studies continued through the presidency of Fidel Ramos (1992-
1998) and Joseph Ejercito Estrada (1998-2001). Later, both the Laiban and Kaliwa Dam
Projects resurfaced as solutions for Metro Manila s increasing water demand during the
presidencies of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (2001-2010) and Benigno Aquino III (2010-2016).
Nevertheless, every time the project is resurrected by the national government, the affected
IPs the Dumagat-Remontados 1 are quick to express strong opposition to it. For instance,
after President Aquino proposed the revival of the Laiban and Kaliwa Dam Projects in his
fourth State of the Nation Address, Conchita Calzado, a member of the Samahan ng mga
Katutubong Agta-Dumagat-Remontado na Binabaka at Ipinagtatanggol ang Lupaing Ninuno
(SAGIBIN-LN) or the Dumagat-Remontado people s organization that fights for ancestral
lands, told Rappler (Ranada, 2015):
We on t agree to the relocation because we believe that if we will be relocated,

we are as good as buried in soil that we do not know. Our culture, as indigenous
peoples, we cannot practice in the relocation site. 2
The EJAtlas notes that the Dumagat-Remontados consistently opposed the project because it
will submerge their ancestral lands and destroy the Sierra Madre primary forest ecosystems.
Describing how destructive the design of Laiban Dam was, the EJAtlas writes:

The dam would require the flooding of 28,000ha, on which around 4,000 families
live. Its construction would thus displace and dispossess around 21,000 people
from seven villages in Rizal province and Northern Quezon. In addition to the
social impacts of repression, dispossession, displacement and loss of indigenous
culture, there are tremendous environmental impacts, such as the deforestation of
the unique Sierra Madre primary forests and associated destruction of biodiversity
hotspots, potential increases in water-borne diseases such as Malaria, and large
disturbances in the river ecosystems, home to important fish sanctuaries.
There were also controversies surrounding the foreign debt that the Philippines will incur from
China should the project pushes through.
Meanwhile, similar to the state-sponsored violence that targeted the IPs and activists opposing
the SRMP, EJAtlas contributors report that the IPs who have been resisting the NCWSP face
constant harassment by the army. Sharing his experiences of harassment to the media, Arnel
delos Santos, the secretary-general of the Bigkis at Lakas ng Katutubo sa Timog Katagalugan
(Balatik), a regional federation of IPs in Southern Tagalog, said that he was persistently asked
by the military about his whereabouts whenever he carries out organizing work in communities.
Indirect threats are also implied by the military by giving unsolicited advice to his mother not
to take part in any anti-dam campaigns (Ayroso, 2014). His father, Nicanor delos Santos, or
Ka Kano, was a victim of extrajudicial killing. A former Dumagat-Remontado leader, Ka Kano
was gunned down by the military in 2001 (Tolentino, 2014, p. 28).
Several religious groups, farmers, local EJOs, fisherfolk, and local scientists and professionals
joined the mobilization efforts of the affected IPs against Laiban Dam. Opposing groups
included the think tank Infrawatch PH and environment organization Haribon Foundation
( Duterte admin nixes Laiban Dam Project, 2019). The Agta (Aeta) tribe (see Figure 6) and
other neighboring communities also supported the Dumagat-Remontados. According to the
EJAtlas, mobilizations were conducted through referendum and local consultations, appeals or
recourse to economic valuation of the environment, development of alternative proposals,
filing of official complaint and petitions, objections to the Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA), refusal of compensation, public campaigns and blockades, street protests, and many

others. National and international NGOs were also involved in the anti-dam movement. The
opposition also used media-based activism and alternative media to promote their agenda.
Figure 6. Aeta by Marilex Jean Borja (licensed under CC BY-NC-ND). Retrieved from
https://bit.ly/2UJEa7J.
Because of the strong resistance to Laiban Dam, it was once again officially shelved in March
2019. Commenting on its cessation, a Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System
(MWSS) official said, Laiban is out insofar as this administration is concerned because of the
social engineering nightmare that e ll encounter in resettling 4,800 families. (It is) Almost
impossible, that is why we removed it from our midterm program ( Duterte admin nixes
Laiban Dam Project, 2019).
New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam Project

The NCWS-Kaliwa Dam is a China-backed water reservoir project that has been green-lighted
by President Duterte despite its social and environmental costs, as well as the affected IPs and
environmentalists opposition. It is a PHP 18.5 billion (USD 366.2 million) 3 dam (DENR-
EMB, 2019a) that will be erected in the Quezon province to ensure Metro Manila s water

security. MWSS reported in September 2019 that the construction of the access road to the dam
site is at 35% and is ongoing.
The construction of the Kaliwa Dam will affect 1,465 households from the towns of Daraitan,
Magsaysay, and Pagsangahan. It will also displace 56 IP households and will place around 284
IP households at risk of flooding and other effects of dam failure (DENR-EMB, 2019a). It will
also cause the IPs loss of sacred burial sites, fishing and hunting grounds, leading to the
destruction of their culture and sources of livelihood. These concerns of the IPs about the
project s impact to their community were documented by the Philippine Department of
Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau or DENR-EMB. The
DENR-EMB (2019b) wrote in their report, There is fear that there will be nothing left for the
future generation of IPs for life and survival.
Covering 133 hectares, the project also threatens the existence of endemic species. It will be
constructed in Environmental Critical Areas or within the National and Wildlife Sanctuary
(NPWS) areas that are protected under Presidential Proclamation No. 1636 (DENR-EMB,
2019a). According to Chavez (2019a), the construction of the project would directly impact 96
endemic species. These numbers include the endangered Rafflessia manillana corpse flower,
the Philippine mahogany, and the Philippine Eagle.
Figure 7. Philippine Eagle: an Endangered Species by Sinisa Djordje Majetic (licensed under
CC BY-NC-ND). Philippine Eagles are found in the region where the Kaliwa Dam will be
constructed. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2JEjgjN.

In addition to the risks of deforestation and the destruction of forest and river ecosystems, as
the DENR-EMB stated in the Kaliwa Dam s executive summary, the dam also puts the
livelihood of farmers in Infanta, Quezon at risk. The said stakeholders informed the DENR-
EMB that it could compromise their farming activities and affect the supply of water from
Agos River. According to the farmers, the dam could, in time, affect groundwater availability
(DENR-EMB, 2019a).
IPs and activists who campaign against the dam s construction also worry that the Kaliwa Dam
will be the gate a for the construction of the shelved Laiban Dam (Chavez, 2019b). Joan
Jaime of the Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (Katribu), a coalition of
indigenous groups, told Mongabay (2019b):
Do you know why the re pushing for Kaliwa Dam? Because in that 2015
feasibility study, the communities in Kaliwa have the weakest opposition. The
government wants this project to appear small because it becomes easier for the
community to accept this. Kaliwa is crucial if we allow Kaliwa, hat s stopping
the government from building the rest?
Like in other mega dam projects in the country, there were also reports of FPIC violations.
When the project received the clearance for construction from the government, Rovik Santiago
Obanil, one of the leaders of the Stop Kaliwa Dam network, told Benar News that the DENR-
EMB committed procedural lapses as the proponents failed to properly hold public
consultations in the affected communities that would be affected (Rinoza & Maitem, 2019).
There were also allegations that the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), the
institution responsible for protecting the rights of the IPs, promoted confusion among IPs
during cluster meetings. In a post on Facebook (2020, January 11), Sandugo or the Movement
of Moro and Indigenous Peoples for Self-Determination shared:
During cluster meetings, the NCIP representatives were reported to have botched
the FPIC processes by inviting Dumagat leaders from the wrong clusters, yet
allowing them to vote in clusters they don’t belong to. Votes taken in these
20

meetings should have been deemed void (as votes should be per cluster), as
argued by the legitimate cluster members
There were observations that the NCIP, during the cluster meetings, had
purposely complicated the FPIC process. This is to confuse the Dumagat, many
of whom are not formally schooled, so they will easily vote yes to Kaliwa Dam.
Also complaining about NPIC s actions, Jaime commented, “The NCIP should clarify their
process. This clustering method is causing division. It’s this changing process that confuses
indigenous peoples (Chavez, 2019b).
Despite the fact that the construction of the Kaliwa Dam is underway, the opposition against it
remains strong. As noted by MWSS ( Opposition groups converge in the public hearing for
the Kaliwa Dam Project, 2019), opposition groups include several pro-environment and NO
to Dam civic groups such as the Save Sierra Madre Network Alliance Inc. (SSMNA),
Indigenous People s Apostolate of the Diocese of Infanta, Freedom from Debt Coalition,
Philippine Movement for Climate Change, San Lakas, Pambansang Magsasaka Coalition,
Haribon Foundation, Indigenous Womens Rights Movement. These groups submitted their
position papers to DENR-EMB last September 2019. A few years back, the NPA also
expressed their support to these opposition groups, as they vowed to launch tactical
offensives against government troops (Jacinto, 2014).
Apart from attending public hearings, the EJAtlas documented different forms of mobilization
against Kaliwa Dam construction. These include blockades, community-based participative
research, development of alternative proposals, the involvement of national and international
NGOs, media-based activism, objections to the EIA, refusal of compensation, public
campaigns, and street protests.
21

Jalaur River Multipurpose Project (JRMPP) Phase II Dam

Situated in Jalaur River, central Iloilo province, Philippines, the Jalaur River Multipurpose
Project Phase II (JRMP II) is one of the more controversial big-ticket projects of the Benigno
Aquino presidency. Like many state-sponsored infrastructure projects in the Philippines, the
JRMP II was bothered by corruption allegations. While the bulk of its funding came from the
Korean Export-Import Bank (Korea-Eximbank or EDCF), it was also partly funded by
4
Aquino s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), a state policy that the Philippine
5
Supreme Court later declared unconstitutional.
Some publications describe the JRMP II as a large dam project (see Ibabao, Baliao & Lizada,
2013). EJAtlas contributors, on the other hand, claim that the JRMP II is actually a small dam
project considering its projected irrigated area and production capacity (6.6 megawatts).
Nevertheless, this paper argues that it is a mega project considering its economic, social, and
environmental costs. First, despite its relatively low production capacity, the construction of
the dam will cost the national government an amount of PHP 11.2 billion (USD 216.7 million)
with a PHP 8.95 billion (USD 176.8 million) loan from the EDCF (Ibabao, Baliao & Lizada,
2013, p. 50). Second, the JRMP II will have to flood a significant portion of Jalaur River, which
is home to 78 species of flora and fauna (Salamat, 2018). A closer look at the dam s projected
energy and water supply would show that its costs could not outweigh its intended benefits.
The EJAtlas writes:
Despite its high costs and large social and environmental impacts, it has a
comparatively small planned electricity production capacity of only 6.6 MW. The
dam was initially planned to serve all-year long irrigation of 32,000 hectares of
agricultural land, and to supply water to households and businesses. However,
22,340 hectares of the 32,000 hectares are already irrigated by existing irrigation
systems; hence the real added irrigation area would be only 9,500 hectares.
Third, it will displace around 17,000 IPs or at least 600 households living in the affected areas
(Aning, 2013). This estimation does not include the number of people who will suffer under
the downstream impact of the dam. The project directly affects the Panay Bukidnon or
22

Tumandok people who live in the highlands of Panay (including the towns of Tapaz and
Jamindan in Capiz province, Janiuay, Lambunao, and Calinog of Iloilo, and some parts of
Antique and Aklan provinces) in Western Visayas (Muyco, 2008 in Ibabao, Baliao & Lizada,
2013, p. 51). Like other IPs in the country, the Tumandok people mainly rely on slash-and-burn
farming, hunting, fishing, and foraging for fruits and root crops (p. 51). With the installation
of this new hydropower facility, their culture and tradition will cease to exist.
The project received a green light from the government despite its violation of the principles
of FPIC. Among the Tumandok people, there remains some IPs who strongly oppose its
construction (Ibabao, Baliao & Lizada, 2013, p. 54). Others, meanwhile, were forced to agree
to the project. In an interview by Salamat (2018), Remia Castor, one of the affected IPs, shared
her peoples experience:
When the construction crew arrived with many policemen, some Tumanduk (sic)
thought that whether they agree or not, the project would push through anyway.
So, they agreed to get paid for their land but deep inside they resented it.
Even before the construction started, the Tumandok people were already dispossessed of lands
and livelihoods. Quoting Castor, Salamat wrote:
To survive, other dispossessed Tumanduk (sic) gathers driftwood brought by the

swell of the river, to make into charcoal. But they could sell it only in the village
and no longer in the town proper. They are banned from working their (former)
farmland, and they are also banned from cutting or harvesting anything in the
mountain. If they were caught doing it, they will be charged and fined.
The government forced the IPs to accept PHP 50,000 (USD 988) per hectare (only those who
have the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title were entitled to receive such an amount while
those without a title were offered less). Despite the compensation, an amount like Php 50,000
does not usually last long, especially since families no longer have viable source of livelihood
23

(Salamat, 2018). As the EJAtlas puts it, compensations offered for crop loss and displacement
have not corresponded to the actual compensations received, or were completely absent.
Figure 8. Philippines DoA '17 No to Jalaur Dam by John Ian Alenciaga (licensed under CC
BY-NC-ND). Affected IPs and activists protesting the construction of Jalaur Dam in 2017.
Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2RclZoG.
There were also reports of red-tagging of protesters (as well as their supporters) by the military.
For instance, Roy Giganto, a Tumandok leader from Tapaz, told Ayroso (2014) that his whole
village of Lahug had been branded as NPA s mpathi ers by the military.
The EJAtlas has documented a large cross-sectoral opposition to the dam. Apart from the
affected IPs, there were several advocate groups such as AGHAM (Advocates of Science and
Technology for the People) and Kalikasan Peoples Network For The Environment (Kalikasan-
PNE) who call for the cessation of Jalaur Dam construction. There were also several local
scientists and professionals, religious groups, local government, and political parties who
support the cause of the Tumandok people. Mobilizations are done through the filing of official
24

complaint letters, petitions, and appeals, public campaigns, blockades, refusal of compensation
(by some), objections to the EIA, and development of alternative proposals.
Despite the resistance and doubts, the construction of the Jalaur Dam is now ongoing.
South Pulangi Hydroelectric Power Plant Project

The South Pulangi Hydroelectric Power Plant Project, also dubbed as a China-funded
hydropower dam, is the latest in a series of connections between Xi s BRI and Duterte s
BBB infrastructure program (Aspinwall, 2020; Ramirez, 2020). According to its proposal
published by the DENR-EMB (2019c), the PHP 37.3 billion (USD 739.7 million) project will
give rise to a 143-meter dam with a total generating capacity of 250 megawatts. It will require
the flooding of 2,924 hectares of indigenous lands in Bukidnon province, Mindanao. This will
submerge the municipalities of Damulog, Kibawe, Dangcagan, and Kitaotao and displace
several Lumads (IPs in Southern Philippines), most notably the Manobo people (river people).
The life of the Manobo people is fundamentally intertwined with the Pulangi River, as they
always make use of the river to move between their small river encampments in the remote
Pantaron range of central Mindanao (Aspinwall, 2020).
Aside from the dislocation of IPs and other households, the campaign against the hydropower
project is motivated by the proponents violation of FPIC as well as the dam s projected
impacts. While the DENR-EMB reported that they have conducted presentations and
consultations in 2018, Nilo Cabungcal, vice chairman of the Manobo Pulangihon Tribal
Council and a member of the Save Pulangi Alliance, claimed that the government did not
follow the legal process and they have not given consent to the project (Aspinwall, 2020). The
IPs and local EJOs also rally against the project s possible environmental impacts such as
vegetation loss, habitat fragmentation, increased landslides and soil erosion, destruction of
aquatic habitat, species decline due to decrease water flow, change in river depth and width,
and increased siltation and sedimentation (DENR-EMB, 2019c).
In reviewing the resistance to the South Pulangi Hydroelectric Power Plant project, it is crucial
to note that Mindanao was under Duterte s martial law (May 2017-December 2019) during the
25

initial stages of the said project. The martial law in Mindanao silenced dissent through fear-
mongering, intimidation, and extrajudicial killings. Since the Lumads have always been
accused of being members or sympathizers of communists or rebel groups, they have become
easy targets for the army (Ariffin, 2018). The martial law has granted the military
e traordinar control of local communities (Gatmaytan, 2019) and the authority to harass
and attack the Lumads.
However, this does not mean that extrajudicial killings were inexistent in Mindanao prior to
Duterte s declaration of military rule. Extrajudicial killings that targeted environmentalists
have plagued the region even during the presidency of Benigno Aquino III. Philstar Global
reported in 2012 the murder of Margarito Cabal, leader of Task Force Save Pulangi, who was
then organizing the campaigning against the construction of a hydroelectric dam in Pulangi
River. According to the news, he was killed by an unidentified gunman in Barangay Palma
Kibawe in one of the towns that will be submerged by the dam. Cabal s wife told the Human
Rights Watch that prior to Cabal s death, he was summoned by the military on suspicion that
he was working for the NPA. Kalikasan-PNE noted that thirteen other environmental activists
suffered the same fate under the Aquino administration. These murders include the death of a
tribal leader Jimmy Liguyon and a priest Fr. Pops Tentorio in 2011 (Villanueva, 2012).
Conclusion
By mapping the mega dam projects in the Philippines and identifying the anti-dam movements
that rally against these projects, the study was able to paint in broader strokes the extent of IPs
marginalization across the country. With the aid of the EJAtlas, it was able to exhibit the extent
of human rights violations in the country, as well as the common acts of resistance to mega
dam projects. It also validated the conclusions of various case studies on dam-related related
conflicts. In mapping these conflicts, it became apparent that:
(1) Mega dam projects in the Philippines mostly address Manila-centric water and energy
problems. Three out of the five mega dam projects in the country are located in Luzon. This
number shows the government s priorities. It also highlights the continuation of the countr s
tradition of marginalization.

(2) The displacement of the IPs does not only deprive them of their right to have
sustainable livelihood but also their right to exist. While the law provides for the
recognition, protection, and promotion of their economic, social and cultural well-being, the
construction of large dams for the sake of development and the common good threatens
the mere existence of indigenous communities. With their displacement and land dispossession
come the loss of traditional knowledge, practices, identity, and cultures.
(3) While the government compensated (or will compensate) the affected IPs, no amount
can ever offset the negative impacts of mega dam projects such as the destruction of
intangible cultural heritage and natural ecosystems. Based on the experiences of dislocated
IPs in the Philippines, government payments are never enough to completely compensate for
the death of their culture and the loss of sustainable livelihood. And in some cases, the
government further dispossesses these people by implementing policies that will also restrict
them from accessing their sources of living.
(4) IPs who oppose mega dam constructions and their supporters are vulnerable to red-
tagging. Red-tagging gives the government troops the authority to control, monitor, and
observe the activities of protesters. It also sustains the countr s legacy of military impunity.
The murder of IP leaders such as Macli-ing Dulag, Nicanor delos Reyes and Jose Doton were
legitimized as they were accused of being members or supporters of anti-state groups.
(5) Extrajudicial killings can either make resistance movement weaker or stronger. There
is a direct correlation between the results of state violence and the intensity of IPs, activists,
and citi ens call for justice. Militarized intimidation of indigenous communities, however, had
been effective in forcing some IPs to sell their lands to the government.
(6) The state often employs a “divide and conquer” tactic to penetrate and isolate ICCs.
The experience of IPs residing near Kaliwa River gives hints on how such a strategy creates
confusion among affected communities.

While mapping conflicts could verify the struggles of IPs and spell out the impacts of large-
scale infrastructure projects, it also raises more questions for exploration, especially for
policymakers, economists, and investors. How can economic growth be achieved without
destroying forest and river ecosystems? In a developing country like the Philippines, how can
water supply and energy generation be secured without compromising the lives of the
marginalized population? How can inclusive development be advanced in a country with a long
history of discrimination and marginalization of IPs?
One must always be vigilant whenever the state touts development and econom for the
common good. Following the IPs and environmentalists lead, one must always ask,
development for hom? The state indeed must ensure people s access to water and
accommodate the increasing energy demands of its growing urban population. These, however,
should never be pursued at the expense of the IPs and the environment.
Notes
1. The Dumagat-Remontados are descendants of lowlanders who fled to the mountains,
effectively escaping the Spanish conquest (Jimenez, 2019).
2. Hi di kami papayag na ililipat dahil naniniwala kami na kung lilipat kami sa kinalalagyan
namin ngayon para kaming ililibing na sa lupa na hindi namin alam. Dahil yung aming kultura,
lalo na sa katutubo, ay hindi na naming pwede gawin sa paglilipatan sa a i .
3. There are varying figures concerning the total cost of the Kaliwa Dam Project. For instance,
the MWSS indicated a PHP 12.189 billion total cost on their website, CNN Philippines (2019)
PHP 18.7 billion, and EJAtlas PHP 21.734 billion. For this research, the paper relied on the
official data published in August 2019 by the DENR-EMB.
4. The Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) was intended by the Aquino administration
to accelerate government spending (Hofileña, 2014).
5. DAP was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court because of the potential misuse
of government funds as well as the e ecutive s usurpation of legislative powers ( What went
before: DAP declared unconstitutional, 2018).

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Acknowledgement
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Taiwan.
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Working Paper Series No.

Mapping Anti-Dam Movements: The Politics of Water Reservoir

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3748391

徵引文化研究國 中心工作 文系列文章 照以下格式 作者 〈文章 目〉 文

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3748391

Mapping Anti-Dam Movements: The Politics of Water Reservoir Construction and

Issues surrounding water reservoir construction and hydropower development in the

Keywords: Hydropower, dam, indigenous peoples, environmentalism, resistance, EJAtlas

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Mapping Socio-Environmental Conflicts: The Global Atlas of

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we map: a collaborative process ), contribute to its database and flag up emerging

Figure 1. Water management and dam-related socio-environmental conflicts in the Philippines

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a group of people or homogenous societies identified by self-ascription and

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priorit rights in the harvesting, extraction, development or exploitation of any natural

The ICCs/IPs concerned shall be given the responsibility to maintain, develop,

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Mega Dam Projects and the Anti-Dam Movements in the Philippines

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(2) Water and sanitation privatization in metropolitan Manila: Success by

(3) Laiban Dam-New Centennial Water Source Project (NCWS), Quezon,

(4) Kaliwa Dam-New Centennial Water Source Project (NCWS), Quezon,

(5) Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project (JRMPP) Phase II Dam, Iloilo,

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San Roque Multipurpose Project

Figure 4. “San Roque embankment by Rawen Balmaña (licensed under CC BY-NC-ND).

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New Centennial Water Source-Laiban Dam Project

We on t agree to the relocation because we believe that if we will be relocated,

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New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam Project

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Jalaur River Multipurpose Project (JRMPP) Phase II Dam

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To survive, other dispossessed Tumanduk (sic) gathers driftwood brought by the

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South Pulangi Hydroelectric Power Plant Project

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Camba, A. (2015). From colonialism to neoliberalism: Critical reflections on Philippine

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Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau.

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Holden, W., Nadeau, K. & Jacobson, R.D. (2011). Exemplifying accumulation by

Imhof, A. (2003). Development disasters: Japanese-funded dam projects in Asia. Inkworks

徵引文化研究國中心工作文系列文章照以下格式作者〈文章目〉文