Think-tank: Those against Kaliwa Dam shouldn’t be allowed to draw water from it

‘WE’RE AGAINST IT’ Members of the Dumagat- Remontado communities opposed to the dam project make their sentiments known to visitors in Barangay Magsaysay, Infanta, Quezon province, in this photo taken in August 2019. —RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines — The head of a think-tank institute has suggested that people against the Chinese-funded Kaliwa Dam must be listed down, and should not be allowed to draw water from it once the program is finished.

In a forum on Thursday, Integrated Development Studies Institute head George Siy lamented the negative stance of the public regarding Chinese-backed projects in the country — even if the initiatives would supposedly improve people’s lives greatly.

Siy was talking about the pros and cons of Chinese-funded projects when he made the remarks — saying that the Kaliwa Dam would benefit the country, but people keep on going against it.

“For instance, we have the Kaliwa Dam, there’s so much opposition to it, but we’re going to run out of water. You know we should suggest to list all those who oppose it, and when the Kaliwa Dam is done, they should not be allowed to draw from it,” he said.

According to Siy, people must remember that Angat Dam, which supplies Metro Manila and nearby provinces with freshwater, was constructed with the help of China.

He then clarified that it is not about whether people should not oppose projects and loans offered by China; rather, it is about implementing programs and projects that are needed by the country.

“They have to remember, people have to remember, the Angat Dam — from which Metro Manila draws majority, more than 70 percent of its water — was also funded by the Chinese earlier. We’re not saying we should do it with the Chinese, we have to do what needs to be done, where our country will win,” Siy explained.

“As much as possible we want to be friends with everybody, sometimes we have to offend a few people, but on the overall, we’d just make it up to them because Filipinos are the warmest people in the world, and they’ll know how to make ligaw again, you know, when the time comes,” he added.

The Kaliwa Dam, a proposed dam situated in Infanta, Quezon, is seen to address water shortage experienced by Metro Manila in recent years. However, there is stiff opposition regarding the plan, because it is believed to have a detrimental effect on the environment — which sits on ancestral land of the Dumagat tribe.

READ: Kaliwa dam project questioned at SC 

READ: MWSS should pursue alternatives to Kaliwa Dam – Bayan Muna

There were questions raised about the legality of the Kaliwa Dam projec before the Supreme Court. Earlier, Alliance of Concerned Teachers Rep. France Castro said she hopes the 14 deals entered by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. with China would not end up like the Kaliwa Dam.

Marcos recently signed 14 deals during his state visit to the country.

READ: Makabayan solon demands full disclosure of all 14 China-gov’t deals

READ: Xi to Marcos: China ready to resume oil, gas talks 

Aside from environmental and ancestral domain concerns, former Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio also sounded alarm on the supposed onerous provisions under the deal to construct the Kaliwa Dam.

While the past administration hailed the partnership with China as it helps the country, several personalities and groups like Carpio and Castro’s Makabayan bloc warned that the said provisions place national security and patrimony in danger — as China could effectively seize the gas in Reed Bank if the Philippines is unable to pay back its loans.

READ: ‘Onerous’ provisions of Kaliwa dam project bared 

READ: China could seize gas in Reed Bank if PH can’t pay loans – Carpio 

But Siy said that there are other countries experiencing higher tensions with China, but are actually also engaging in partnerships with the Asian superpower.

“In fact two countries that have even hotter relations with China than the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam, have closed and are halfway through in some of their projects. So Indonesia, which has been blowing up Philippine ships as well as some ships, boats from China, is already partly-done with their high-speed rail,” Siy said.

“So that means that they understand that business is business, you have to put politics aside. The same with Vietnam, who have contracted the Metro Rail, and in Laos, China also has a 1,000-kilometer rail, already partially done, and already generating very substantial business because it’s become a loading point, a convergence point for shipments from Vietnam and Thailand,” he added.

JMS