Members of the Dumagat-Remontado communities from Quezon and Rizal embarking on a nine-day march make a stopover at the Ateneo De Manila University in Quezon City from General Nakar, Quezon en route to Malacañang Palace on Wednesday. The marchers are protesting the development of Kaliwa Dam and calling on the Marcos administration and concerned government agencies to pursue sustainable and long-term solutions to water security, human welfare, and environmental protection. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News
MANILA — There is still time for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to right the long-term damage that indigenous peoples (IPs) and environmentalists fear from the construction of the Kaliwa Dam, groups opposing the project said Wednesday.
Members of the Dumagat and Remontado tribes from Rizal and Quezon provinces made a final stopover in Quezon City near the end of their 9-day march to Malacañang Palace in hopes of appealing directly to the president.
They were greeted outside the Ateneo De Manila University by supporters from the school’s faculty, student government, and religious community.
Gloria Buendicho, an IP from General Nakar, Quezon—where the march began on February 15—said she had been in tears during their journey.
“Halos ako po ay umiiyak sa daan, dahil pakiramdam ko pasan ko ang Sierra Madre,” she said, referring to the mountain range where the dam will be built.
“Dahil po dito, ako po, kahit matanda na ay nagdesisyon na sumama dito. Wala sa aking nagpilit na sumama dito dahil kusang loob po ang aking pagpunta, alang-alang sa aking mga susunod na henerasyon, sa aking mga apo, at sa ating Sierra Madre, at alang-alang sa taumbayan.”
Buendicho called on the public to support their cause, which she described as a last-ditch effort to protect the environment.
“Ako po ay nananawagan na sana po kami po ay inyong tulungan. Dahil po dito, tayo ay maghihirap sa habang panahon,” she said.
“Wala na pong pagkakataon kung hindi niyo po kami susuportahan ay wala na tayong pagkakataon upang iligtas ang ating bansa sa pag-init ng panahon.”
Conrad Vargas, convenor of the Stop Kaliwa Dam Project and executive director of the Save Sierra Madre Network, reiterated their position that building the dam will not permanently provide for Metro Manila’s water supply.
Instead, he said, it would only submerge 291 hectares of forest and ancestral land, lead to more flooding in the lowlands, and even result in the IPs experiencing drought.
But Vargas added that despite the development for the dam already underway in the mountain range and the payment of indigenous groups who consented to the project,
“Maraming nagsasabi na ‘Ay, wala na tayong magagawa kasi ginagawa na at iyan ay proyekto ng gobyerno.’ Huwag po kayong maniwala. Ni katiting po ay wala pang ginagawa doon sa paghaharang ng mismong Kaliwa Dam,” Vargas said.
“Ang ginawa pa lang nila ay ‘yong access road at saka ‘yong tunneling ngayon na ginagawa sa Teresa. At malaki ang problema nila.”
Vargas said a number of local governments such as Infanta and Real in Quezon and Tanay, Rizal have not given their go-signal behind the project.
DISOWNED
Members of the Dumagat-Remontado communities from Quezon and Rizal embarking on a nine-day march make a stopover at the Ateneo De Manila University in Quezon City from General Nakar, Quezon en route to Malacañang Palace on Wednesday. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News
Conchita Calzado, spokesperson of the Dumagat-Remontado marchers, disowned members of their tribes who on Tuesday received “disturbance fees” amounting to P160 million from the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS).
The amount was divided P80 million each between the tribes based in Tanay, Rizal and in General Nakar, Quezon.
Calzado called the payment—seen as proof of the IPs’ consent to the dam project—a “bribe” by the government.
“Sa ngalan ng P80 million, ang mga lider na ito’y pinagpalit ang kanilang pagiging katutubo at ang aming lahi. Kaya pag-alis po namin dito at pagbalik sa amin, sila po ay amin nang itatakwil bilang tribong Dumagat-Remontado,” she said.
“Naranasan po namin sa buong proseso ng FPIC, kami ay nilinlang, niloko, pinagsamantalahan. Kami rin ay sinuhulan, at kami rin ay tinakot.”
Members of the Dumagat-Remontado communities from Quezon and Rizal embarking on a nine-day march make a stopover at the Ateneo De Manila University in Quezon City from General Nakar, Quezon en route to Malacañang Palace on Wednesday. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News
The IP leader vowed they would not easily give away their right to the land.
“Nalulungkot kami na ipipilit kaming ipapayag sa Kaliwa Dam na siyang sisira sa aming planong ipamana na sa susunod naming salinlahi,” Calzado said.
The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) said last week that while they acknowledge that some IP groups are opposed to the project, the NCIP obtained consent from the “gimot” or tribal elders to proceed with the project.
IP advocate and former Ifugao legislator Teddy Baguilat also came to express his support for the marchers.
He said the government should focus on finding other ways to meet the capital’s water supply such as fixing pipe leakages, investing in rainwater capture, and rehabilitating existing hydroelectric dams.
The marchers, who spent the night inside the Ateneo campus, will be sent off with a Mass on Thursday morning before they begin the final leg of their procession to the country’s seat of power in Manila. #
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