There is no justice in quenching the thirst for water if it is at the expense of destroying communities.
The projected benefits of national development projects, such as the Kaliwa Dam, in mitigating the water shortage in Metro Manila should be shared equally by everyone and should not be detrimental to indigenous communities.
Resistance to the project from affected indigenous communities such as the Agta-Dumagat-Remontado populations within the boundaries of Quezon and Rizal provinces are valid dissent as the Kaliwa Dam Project would lead to the destruction of their ancestral domains and displacement of their populations. They have the right to full disclosure of information about the project and the right to negotiate and manifest objection. Without consent to proceed, it is a direct violation of the Indigenous Peoples Right Act. Likewise, Article XII Section 5 of the Constitution provides that the State shall ensure that national development policies and programs shall protect the rights of indigenous cultural communities to their ancestral lands to ensure their economic, social, and cultural well-being.
The CHR does not invalidate the need to address the water shortage in Metro Manila. Water is a human right and every Filipino deserves access to clean and adequate water supply. However, if creation of new dams causes more problems than solutions, we urge the government to seriously exhaust viable alternatives such as identifying other location for water dams, the rehabilitation of existing water dams and supporting watershed conservations, among others and to inform the indigenous communities and the public of what these alternatives are.
Some indigenous groups have already expressed fear that their non-consent to the project will merely be ignored. They also question the issuance of the Environmental Compliance Certificate for Kaliwa Dam as threats of flooding and destruction of their sacred land and biodiversity will be confronted once the project commences. These are valid concerns and must not be simply brushed aside by government.
The CHR calls on the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to work closely with the CHR in monitoring the implementation of the project and to ensure that there are no irregularities in securing free prior and informed consent. We also demand transparency from the government to lay out its proposed rehabilitation and social protection plans for the affected communities before the project pushes through.
Pursuant to its mandate, the CHR will facilitate community-based dialogues with the indigenous groups and will enjoin concerned government institutions to come up with solutions that are genuinely respectful of the right to self-determination of our indigenous peoples.###