PHASE 1 | The entrance to the Kaliwa Dam project site in Teresa, Rizal province. Tunneling activities — or Phase 1 of the project — began in the municipality in December. Photo taken on Dec. 19, 2022. (File photo by VOLT CONTRERAS / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — The P12.2-billion, Chinese-funded Kaliwa Dam could be completed by 2026 and operational the following year, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) said on Wednesday, adding the controversial project would “no longer be derailed” after eight tedious years of securing permits for its construction.
The MWSS and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) confirmed they had secured a certification precondition (CP) for the project, or the document saying it had obtained the free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) of the 46 tribal communities that would be affected.
This does not mean that opposition to the dam has completely gone away, according to the NCIP Calabarzon regional director, Carlos Buasen.
Major tribal leaders, like Octavio Pranada of the Dumagat-Remontados, have been convinced that the dam would not submerge their ancestral domains, the Inquirer learned.
P160M indemnity
The MWSS also agreed to pay a P160-million one-time indemnity fee to IP communities in Rizal and Quezon provinces, who will continue to receive an annual share from the first 25 years of the dam’s operations, Buasen told the Inquirer.
Pranada, the oldest and highest leader of his tribe that has lived for generations in Rizal, said the MWSS had explained to them that the risks once associated with the Laiban Dam — a project pursued during the first Marcos administration — were not present in Kaliwa.
With the CP’s issuance, the MWSS can now proceed with securing other permits needed for the project, said MWSS Administrator Leonor Cleofas.
These include, among others, a clearance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, since parts of the dam project would pass through protected areas in the Sierra Madre.
2 phases
The project consists of two major phases: the 22-kilometer tunneling works and the actual dam construction.
The MWSS and the Department of Public Works and Highways began tunneling in the project site within the municipality of Teresa, Rizal, in December last year. This phase is expected to be completed in mid-2026.
Dam construction may begin once the “46 families” directly affected by the project are relocated, Cleofas said.
The MWSS has pushed for the Kaliwa Dam as the answer to Metro Manila’s dwindling water supply. Once finished, the project is expected to provide 600 million liters per day to augment the needs of some 17 million residents in Mega Manila, according to MWSS Chair Elpidio Vega.
Residents of Rizal and Quezon have repeatedly complained about the dam and other major construction projects being pursued at their expense for the benefit of the Metro Manila population.
But Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan urged critics of the project “not to point fingers and debate on technicalities and policies… and [pay] attention and understand how external forces influence sustainable water.”
“Water shortages will be a thing of the past, particularly (once) the Kaliwa Dam project (has come) to fruition,” Vega said. “We cannot afford to pause.”