House panel OKs resolution stopping Kaliwa Dam project in ancestral domains

DAMNING KALIWA DAM Members of the Dumagat-Remontado tribe from Quezon and Rizal provinces hold a rally in front of the office of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System in Quezon City in March this year to protest plans to build the Kaliwa Dam. INQUIRER file photo / NIñO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — The House committee on indigenous cultural communities and indigenous peoples has approved the issuance of a resolution calling on Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and other agencies to cease activities inside the ancestral domains affected by Kaliwa Dam project.

The committee said any activities inside the affected ancestral domain shall be ceased in the absence of a completed or consummated Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) process with the indigenous communities in the area.

The FPIC is a specific right pertaining to indigenous peoples that allows them to give or withhold consent to a project that may affect them or their territories.

But during the hearing, it was reported that no agreement was reached between the affected communities and the MWSS.

Kalinga Rep. Allen Jesse Mangaoang, who chairs the committee,  said that while the committee “is not anti-development,” the panel stands firm is for responsible exploration and utilization of natural resources.

The panel convened to continue its deliberation on the two resolutions calling for an inquiry, in aid of legislation, regarding the Kaliwa Dam Project.

House Resolution No. 15 filed by Bayan Muna Rep. Eufemia Cullamat calls for an inquiry into the alleged water crisis and the revival and effects of the construction of the Kaliwa Dan and Laiban Dam projects.

Meanwhile, House Resolution No. 309 filed by Rizal Rep. Juan Fidel Felipe Nograles seeks to investigate the New Centennial Water Source – Kaliwa Dam Project and its alleged anomalous award to China Energy Engineering Co. Limited.

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