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Flores, Patricia Frances P. April 02, 2019

English 13 2nd Documented Essay (1730 words)
Dam to be Damned: Kaliwa Dam for China’s Power in the Philippines
Last March 14, a water supply crisis struck Metro Manila. Several barangays did not have water supply

for at most 10 days. Communities and villages were getting their water supply from firetrucks that seldomly go

around the area (Agence France-Presse). According to Manila Water, the cause of this interruption is the

alarmingly low water level from La Mesa Dam, one of the major dams in Metro Manila, which was allegedly

caused by El Niño (Rivas). The other dams are Angat Dam and Ipo Dam. These three dams are connected

from Angat Dam to Ipo Dam to La Mesa Dam then to the water treatment facilities before the water reaches

to different communities and infrastructures (Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System). Ten days after

the crisis, President Rodrigo Duterte demanded to release 150-day worth of water supply from Angat Dam

(Lopez). The next day, all affected cities immediately received water supply in their homes. According to

Presidential Spokesperson Panelo, the water shortage was caused by artificial means. He also claimed that the

problem was caused by the mismanagement of Manila Water (Lopez). Now the question stands, why did it take

10 days to resolve the problem? If it can be solved right away, why did the residents have to suffer from the

water drought?

The proposal of the Kaliwa Dam project was raised again in the media. According to MWSS, the

Kaliwa Dam project is the “[d]evelopment of new water source in order to meet the increasing water demand

by constructing a redundant dam for Metro Manila’s domestic water supply.” This project was proposed before

during Marcos’ Era. Originally, it was proposed as Laiban-Kaliwa Dam, wherein 600 million liters of water

supply can be distributed to Metro Manila per day, according to Finance Assistant Secretary Tony Lambino

(On the Record). During an interview in CNN, MWSS Administrator Reynaldo Velasco claimed that Angat

Dam can no longer sustain the water demand of Metro Manila. This project will cost PhP 18.724 billion

according to MWSS. Chinese President Xi Jingping pledged to loan 85% of the costs of the said project, and

it will be payed with a given interest for 20 years. However, given the advantages of this project, there are still

reasonable factors that the construction of this dam should be discontinued. These factors are divided into the

following: the Dumagat Tribe and the environmental assessment of the area, and the slow rise of economical

reign of China in the Philippines.

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Kaliwa River is located at Infanta, Quezon, where the dam will be constructed. According to Dumagat

Tribe Marcelino Tena, the area is resided by around 10,000 indigenous people or IPs, specifically the Dumagat

Tribe (On the Record).

They consider those lands in that area their home because they believe that their ancestors gave these

lands to them. Their way of living is different than how people in the city are living. These people solely rely

on their surroundings in order to survive. Rituals are also practiced in these areas especially by the Kaliwa

River, as part of their culture and tradition. The river serves as their main and only source of livelihood.

(Brigada)

If the project will continue, the IPs should be relocated to a place where they can continue the same

way of living that they experienced before. RA 3871 Chapter II Section 7c states that

“[w]here relocation is considered necessary as an exceptional measure, such relocation shall take place
only with the free and prior informed consent of the ICCs/IPs concerned and whenever possible, they
shall be guaranteed the right to return to their ancestral domains, as soon as the grounds for relocation
cease to exist. When such return is not possible, as determined by agreement or through appropriate
procedures, ICCs/IPs shall be provided in all possible cases with lands of quality and legal status at
least equal to that of the land previously occupied by them, suitable to provide for their present needs
and future development. Persons thus relocated shall likewise be fully compensated for any resulting
loss or injury.”

The government cannot relocate IPs from their lands without giving them a location that gives equal value and

necessities compared from what their previous location gave. In a CNN interview, MWSS Administrator

Reynaldo Velasco said that the government is willing to give proper relocation for the IPs. This statement

contradicts to what Tena said in the same interview, where he said that they were forcefully being pulled out

from their own land. He also added that they were never consulted by the government regarding the Kaliwa

Dam Project. The government does not give full attention to the people who own the lands where the dam

will be located. Instead, the government forcefully removes the IPs from their own land without their consent.

The proposed area of construction is lying under two fault lines, namely the Infanta Fault and the West

Valley Fault. This issue was raised ever since the Aquino Administration in 2014, which was also one of the
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main reasons why this project was postponed. (Mayuga) Referring to Velasco in an CNN interview, the area

does not have fault lines according to MWSS’s consultation with PAG-ASA. However, concerns regarding this

matter should be consulted with expert from PHIVOLCS (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and

Seismology), and not with PAG-ASA (Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services

Administration) because PAG-ASA deals with the weather forecasts of the country and their services does not

involve seismic assessments.

SSMNA (Save Sierra Madre Network Alliance Inc) chairman Fr. Pete Motallana, along with the

Dumagat Tribe, has expressed his strong opposition against this project which led to the project being

postponed back in the Arroyo Administration in 2009. Their opposition were also backed with support from

environmentalists and the local Catholic Church of Infanta, Quezon. The reason for their opposition is mainly

due to environmental and ecological problems that the project faces. One of those problems is the fact that the

project will harm the Sierra Madre Mountain Range, where most of Philippines’ endemic species are found.

Another problem lies within the location’s safety from earthquakes. Knowing that the Infanta Fault and the

West Valley Fault are located within the area of the project’s construction, the struck of a mega-earthquake will

cause numerous casualties around the location. Floods all over the residing communities around the area will

occur and will cause the deaths of many lives. (Mayuga)

The government does not give their concern to the ecological consequences of this project to an extent

to at least conduct an environment impact assessment of the location. Given that government does not give

enough concern about the beings living at the area where the construction of Kaliwa Dam is located, it is also

a concern that they risked accepting a loan from China.

The project costs PhP 18.724 billion (Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System), and the

Chinese government pledged to loan 85% of the cost that should be fully payed back for 20 years, including

interest. Currently, the Philippines still has a large debt which dated back almost 40 years ago ever since Marcos

Era. This loan was used to build the infrastructures that we have today such as highways. The people of the

Philippines are still paying this debt up to this date. Given that the current administration is determined to pay
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all of China’s loan in time, annual interest rate per annum included, the country is still under a large debt that

is currently being paid. For the past 10 years, China has been giving loans to third world countries such as

Angola, Kenya, Venezuela, and South Africa. These huge loans were also used to build the respective countries’

infrastructures. In return, Chinese signs were posted around these construction sites.

However, China had different plans for some countries like East Turkestan. Military concentration

camps have been made for the citizens of East Turkestan. The goal of this camp is to force Uyghurs and

Muslims to denounce their religion—Islam. Torture is mainly used in this camp and some people die by this,

just because they are caught to be practicing their religion. The reason why China is very much interested with

East Turkistan is that the country is very rich in natural resources, like other Third World countries, such as the

Philippines. China gets a hold of Third World countries by giving them loans for “development.” As soon as

these countries fail to pay their debt in full in the given amount of time, China will get a hold on the country’s

natural resources. (NowThis News)

In the case of the Philippines, this is not the first time that our country has been involved in

controversial issues with China. During the Arroyo Administration, a scandal involving China immerged. The

“ZTE Scandal” is a controversy that proposed the National Broadband Network in the Philippines. The

objective of the project was to establish a nation-wide telecommunication network owned by the government

but it will be made by a Chinese company called ZTE. However, there were claims of corruption in the process

of this project, which resulted to its halt. (Forr)

Another issue of the Philippines with China involves the West Philippine Sea. By the Aquino

Administration, the Philippines has successfully claimed the rights to the West Philippine Sea after China claims

that it is part of their territory as part of South China Sea. The Philippines won the rights to the West Philippine

Sea through an arbitral tribunal held in Netherlands on July 12, 2016. (Esmaquel) On the contrary, China still

has military camps on the islands located on the West Philippine Sea, making them under control of the

Philippines’ own lands. Spratlys Islands is very rich in oil and if the Philippines use this as its main source of

oil, gasoline prices would be lowered down. (DeLuca) However, China has been claiming the island by using it
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without an official document that the islands are theirs. China has always been here in the Philippines, trying

to claim its lands and resources. Now that the Philippines owes a huge amount of money from China, China

will eventually control the Philippine economy step by step.

The construction of Kaliwa Dam might be helpful to give a redundant water supply for Metro Manila

but it is not worth the risk to displace the Dumagat Tribe from their lands without proper relocation, to

endanger the ecosystem on Sierra Madre where most of the endemic species of the Philippines are found, to

trust China’s help expecting that China might take advantage of our economy given that other countries, those

were also given loan by China, suffer under China’s hands.

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Works Cited

Agence France-Presse. “'Worst' Water Shortage Hits Millions in Manila.” Philstar.com, The Philippine Star, 16

Mar. 2019, www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/03/16/1901992/worst-water-shortage-hits-millions-

manila.

Cigaral, Ian Nicolas. “Malaysia's Anwar Cautions Philippines on 'Dubious' Infra Loan Deals.” Philstar.com,

The Philippine Star, 4 Sept. 2018, www.philstar.com/business/2018/09/04/1848646/malaysias-

anwar-cautions-philippines-dubious-infra-loan-deals.

CNN Philippines. “On the Record: Kaliwa Dam: The Answer to Water Crisis?” YouTube, YouTube, 21 Mar.

2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXsil7XiofA.

DeLuca, Derek. “Why the Spratly Islands Dispute Matters.” American Thinker, 20 Feb. 2016,

www.americanthinker.com/articles/2016/02/why_the_spratly_islands_dispute_matters.html.

Esmaquel, Paterno. “Philippines Wins Case vs China.” Rappler, www.rappler.com/nation/137202-philippines-

china-ruling-case-west-philippine-sea.

Forr, Chris. NBN Scandal: an Illustrated Guide, www.chrispforr.net/phils/nbn/nbn.htm.

GMA Public Affairs. “Brigada: Ano-Ano Ang Magiging Epekto Ng Kaliwa Dam Project?” YouTube,

YouTube, 28 Mar. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=3otb60P_2eg.

Lopez, Virgil. “Duterte Demands Release of 150 Days Worth of Water Supply from Angat Dam.” GMA

News Online, GMA News Online, 15 Mar. 2019,

www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/688050/duterte-demands-release-of-150-days-worth-of-

water-supply-from-angat-dam/story/.

Mayuga, Jonathan. “Group Warns against Adverse Effects of Large Dams, Nixes Quezon's Kaliwa Dam

Project.” BusinessMirror, 13 Nov. 2017, businessmirror.com.ph/2017/11/13/group-warns-against-

adverse-effects-of-large-dams-nixes-quezons-kaliwa-dam-project/.

“Metro Manila Water Supply System.” METROPOLITAN WATERWORKS AND SEWERAGE SYSTEM,

mwss.gov.ph/learn/metro-manila-water-supply-system/.

“New Centennial Water Source – Kaliwa Dam Project.” METROPOLITAN WATERWORKS AND
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SEWERAGE SYSTEM, mwss.gov.ph/projects/new-centennial-water-source-kaliwa-dam-project/.

NowThis News. “China Has Detained More Than a Million Muslims | Op-Ed | NowThis.” YouTube,

YouTube, 13 Dec. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmaqJDlWwrs.

“Republic Act No. 8371 | GOVPH.” Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines,

www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1997/10/29/republic-act-no-8371/.

Rivas, Ralf. “El Niño to Blame for Manila Water Woes? Data Doesn't Support It.” Rappler,

www.rappler.com/business/225479-data-does-not-support-manila-water-service-interruptions-

march-2019.