Indigenous people from the Dumagat-Remontados communities and their supporters march toward the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) office in Quezon City to stage a protest-rally there on Thursday, February 23, 2023, to register their strong opposition to the construction of the 60-meter-high Kaliwa Dam that will traverse their ancestral domains in General Nakar, Quezon, and Tanay, Rizal. INQUIRER.net/Jean Mangaluz
MANILA, Philippines — Indigenous people (IP) from the Dumagat-Remontados communities and their supporters hit the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) over the construction of the 60-meter-high Kaliwa Dam project that will cut across their ancestral domains in General Nakar, Quezon, and Tanay, Rizal.
On the last day of their nine-day march against the controversial reservoir plan, 300 IPs reached the MWSS office in Quezon City. They voiced out their complaints over the claim of the government-owned and -controlled water corporation and regulator that the Kaliwa Dam construction had secured their consent.
READ: Kaliwa Dam project gets tribes’ nod; tunneling in progress – MWSS
Indigenous people from the Dumagat-Remontados communities and their supporters march toward the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) office in Quezon City to stage a protest-rally there on Thursday, February 23, 2023, to register their strong opposition to the construction of the 60-meter-high Kaliwa Dam that will traverse their ancestral domains in General Nakar, Quezon, and Tanay, Rizal. INQUIRER.net/Jean Mangaluz
Indigenous people from the Dumagat-Remontados communities and their supporters march toward the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) office in Quezon City to stage a protest-rally there on Thursday, February 23, 2023, to register their strong opposition to the construction of the 60-meter-high Kaliwa Dam that will traverse their ancestral domains in General Nakar, Quezon, and Tanay, Rizal. INQUIRER.net/Jean Mangaluz
Indigenous people from the Dumagat-Remontados communities and their supporters march toward the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) office in Quezon City to stage a protest-rally there on Thursday, February 23, 2023, to register their strong opposition to the construction of the 60-meter-high Kaliwa Dam that will traverse their ancestral domains in General Nakar, Quezon, and Tanay, Rizal. INQUIRER.net/Jean Mangaluz
According to them, just a faction among IPs affected by the project has consented to the project and disowned the so-called leaders of the group. They insisted that not all tribal leaders were adequately consulted about the Kaliwa Dam.
During the demonstration, Fr. Robert Reyes, famously known as the “Running Priest,” gave scathing remarks against the MWSS and other government agencies.
“Mukhang pera!” he remarked of the agencies.
(Greedy!)
Father Robert Reyes speaks as indigenous people from the Dumagat-Remontados communities and their supporters stage a protest-rally at the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) office in Quezon City on Thursday, February 23, 2023, to register their strong opposition to the construction of the 60-meter-high Kaliwa Dam that will traverse their ancestral domains in General Nakar, Quezon, and Tanay, Rizal. INQUIRER.net/Jean Mangaluz
Indigenous people from the Dumagat-Remontados communities and their supporters march toward the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) office in Quezon City to stage a protest-rally there on Thursday, February 23, 2023, to register their strong opposition to the construction of the 60-meter-high Kaliwa Dam that will traverse their ancestral domains in General Nakar, Quezon, and Tanay, Rizal. INQUIRER.net/Jean Mangaluz
The IPs walked from General Nakar in Quezon province. They stopped at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City before proceeding to march along Katipunan Avenue toward the MWSS main office.
READ: Anti-Kaliwa Dam marchers reach Ateneo
Students, faculty members, and clergy joined the protesting IPs in their fight. The IPs said they hope to reach Malacañang by Thursday evening and have a dialogue with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.