A House of Representatives legislative committee on Wednesday, June 9, ordered the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System and the China-based contractor of the New Centennial Water Source Kaliwa Dam to cease and desist from “initiating or performing” any construction activity on the P12.2 billion project and its components.
In a congressional hearing, the House Committee on Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples unanimously agreed to issue a cease and desist resolution as proposed by Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate.
“There being no objection to the motion, the resolution is carried,” declared Kalinga Rep. Allen Jesse C. Mangaoang as the House panel noted that the MWSS failed to secure “free, prior and informed consent (FPIC)" from various Dumagat communities to be adversely affected by the project.
IP communities in Tanay, Rizal and Infanta, Quezon are expected to be displaced when the dam, the main component of the project, submerges many barangays in the said localities. The Kaliwa Dam project will be the new source of potable water for Metro Manila and adjacent localities in Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite and Laguna.
In a resolution filed by Bayan Muna Rep. Eufemia Cullamat, the CICCIP was tasked to investigate the plight of Dumagat and other IPs to be affected by the project
In House Resolution No. 309, Rizal Rep. Juan Fidel Felipe Nograles called for a probe into allegations of irregularities in the award of the P12.2 billion contract to the China Energy Engineering Corporation Limited (CEECL).
Before the approval of Zarate's motion, lawyer Josefina Agustin, representative of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples’, revealed that the during a meeting for the validation of the Memorandum of Agreement between the IP’s and MWSS, the two parties failed to reach an agreement.
Agustin said the main point of disagreement was the inability of the MWSS to present a clear profit sharing scheme to the affected IPs.
Under the law, securing an FPIC from IP folk is a requisite prior to the initiation of any project that could have an impact on their lives and their livelihood.
“It is now confirmed that there is no consummated FPIC yet. Hindi pwedeng magpatuloy ang isang proyekto kung wala pang FPIC (A project cannot be implemented if there is no FPIC yet),” said Zarate.
However, the Bayan Muna lawmaker noted that there have been numerous reports confirming that contractor China-based CEECL had started working on various components of the project since 2019.
“In accordance with the Indigenous Peoples Act, if the FPIC is not yet completed, it follows that no project or programs shall be processed,” Agustin confirmed.
Agustin said the NCIP has received a complaint of violation of the law and if warranted, will issue a cease and desist order against the MWSS and CEECL.
Project manager Jojo Berado of MWSS neither confirmed nor denied the reports of on-going construction although he stressed that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has issued a “notice to proceed” for the contractor to do the detailed design of the project.
However, Conrado Vargas, executive director fo the Prelature of INfanta Community Organization of the Philippines, testified that they were barred from entering the supposed construction site when he and IP members visited the area last year.
However, Vargas recalled that they saw vans carrying Chinese men who were allowed entry by the site’s security personnel.
On the other hand, Bayan Muna Rep. Eufemia Cullamat received a confirmation from the MWSS on the reported arrival of tunnel boring machines that the Chinese contractors will use for the project.
Berado confirmed that the heavy equipment will be used in excavation operations ‘next year’ when the “necessary permits” are fully secured.
“There will be no physical activity on the site unless clearances and permits are secured,” he assured the House panel.