8 lawmakers support controversial megadam

ILOILO CITY—Legislators from Iloilo and Guimaras provinces have thrown their support for a controversial P11-billion mega-dam project that is being opposed by environmental and other groups.

In a joint manifesto issued on June 6, seven congressmen from Iloilo and  Guimaras and a partylist representative said the Jalaur River Multipurpose Project II (JRMP II) is “highly beneficial” to their constituents.

The project, which is being implemented in Calinog town in Iloilo, “will provide multipurpose utilization of water resources for irrigation, hydro-electric power, domestic and industrial water supply and other related water resources development,” the congressmen said.

Those who signed the manifesto were Representatives Jerry Treñas (lone district, Iloilo City), Oscar “Richard” Garin Jr. (first district), Arcadio Gorriceta (second district), Arthur Defensor Jr. (third district), Hernan Biron Jr. (fourth district), Niel Tupas Jr. (fifth district), JC Rahman Nava (lone district, Guimaras) and Pablo Nava III of  Append.

The project being implemented by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) will help flood control and mitigation, create 17,000 jobs from its construction and produce 86,000 cubic meters of potable water daily. It will generate 6.6 megawatts of electricity.

In their manifesto, the legislators said the project would result in  the creation of a new eco-tourism area in the province.

The project, set to be completed by 2016, involves the construction of three dams (Jalaur reservoir, afterbay and catch dams), a 6.6-MW hydro power plant and an 81-kilometer high-line canal.

Former Iloilo Rep. Augusto “Boboy” Syjuco Jr. filed a petition for writ of kalikasan in the Supreme Court, claiming that the project would displace thousands of indigenous people and pose “horrendous and inconceivable peril” including risks of flooding and habitat destruction.

The Supreme Court issued a writ of kalikasan on Oct. 31 last year but didn’t issue a temporary environmental protection order.

Instead, the high tribunal directed the project proponents, including the NIA, to respond to the petition and the Court of Appeals to hear the petition.

The writ of kalikasan is a legal remedy for parties who believe their “constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology is violated or threatened with a violation” and to stop an environmentally destructive act or actions.

Environmental groups and organizations of farmers and indigenous peoples are also opposing the project.

Dagsaw-Panay-Guimaras Indigenous People’s Networks

deplored what it said was the government’s “haste” in implementing the project despite warnings of environmental threats.

The opponents have warned of massive flooding and destruction of crops and livelihood especially on the lowland and the community of indigenous peoples.

They have cited the 11-kilometer distance of the project site from  the active West Panay Fault, which could damage the megadam and trigger massive flooding in the event of an earthquake.

NIA officials had insisted that the megadam could withstand an Intensity 9 earthquake and has the capacity to store 223 million cubic meters or equivalent to 280 million drums of water before it overflows.