Kaliwa Dam project has indigenous people’s approval, says MWSS

The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage (MWSS) announced on Tuesday that they had secured indigenous communities' approval for the controversial Kaliwa Dam project.

“MWSS consultations with the Indigenous Peoples (IPs) of Quezon and Rizal have reached a positive outcome in December 9 and 17, 2019 when the IPs and Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) of Rizal and Quezon Provinces, respectively adopted a resolution of consent (Resolusyon ng Pagpayag) to the project,” the MWSS said in a statement.

The MWSS emphasized that IPs had adopted the resolution after conducting "their own independent and collective discussions and decision-making in an environment where they did not feel intimidated, and where they had sufficient time to discuss in their culturally appropriate way, matters affecting their rights, livelihoods, knowledge, traditions, governance systems, natural resources.”

Securing the IP communities’ thumbs up was part of the Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) process, the government agency said.

“The IPs ‘Resolusyon’ also means that MWSS adhered to the FPIC framework and that the rights of the IPs are being respected by making sure that they understood all of the implications of the project before they give their consent,” the agency said.

Last Saturday, MWSS Administrator Emmanuel Salamat said the agency was ensuring that affected IP communities would be relocated.

Around 400 individuals from 55 barangays would be affected by the P12.2-billion China-funded project, Salamat had also said.

Once constructed, the Kaliwa Dam would provide Metro Manila with 600 million liters of water per day. Construction would take two to three years.

President Rodrigo Duterte had warned courts against issuing temporary restraining orders that would delay the construction of the Wawa and Kaliwa dams. 

Duterte said the dams were a "last resort" for Metro Manila to have an adequate water supply.

“Through this Statement, the MWSS manifests that it has exerted and continues to exert extraordinary diligence imposed by law and remain cautious under all circumstances in the conduct of its business affairs in addressing the urgent need to develop a new water source for Metro Manila,” the MWSS said.

The agency underscored the need for Kaliwa Dam as the water supply capacity from the Angat reservoir and some other smaller sources would not be sufficient to satisfy the water demand of Metro Manila between 2020 and 2025.

On the reactions by some sectors favoring the proposal by a Japanese firm to develop a weir along the Kaliwa River, the MWSS said technical studies have shown that it was not a sustainable solution to the water shortage in Metro Manila.

“Both local and international consultants have reviewed the technical and cost sustainability of a low dam or weir over a dam at Kaliwa River,” it said.

“The results have been the same. In times of low- flows it cannot provide the reliability for continuous supply and in times of high flows, the risk of flooding due to overtopping is imminent,” it added.

Also, given that the area was prone to erosion, the economic life of the weir would likely be shortened and thus more expensive to water consumers, who would eventually shoulder the investment cost of the weir, according to the MWSS. — DVM, GMA News