ILOILO CITY – A South Korean bank and a contractor are facing complaints of human rights and environmental violations over its role in the megadam project in central Iloilo province.

A group of Filipino and Korean activists filed complaints in South Korea last Aug. 26 against the initial financier and contractor of the Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project-Stage II (JRMP-II), which built three dams and reservoirs in Calinog town.

“This marks the first time in seven years that the group returned to South Korea to directly seek accountability from the institutions behind the JRMP-II,” said coordinator John Ian Alenciaga.

The JRMP-II is a flagship project of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA). Its construction was built with an initial budget of P11.2 billion and later ballooned to almost P20 billion.

Around P8.2 billion of the initial P11.2-billion budget for JRMP-II was a loan by the Philippine government from the Korean Export-Import Bank (KEXIM) through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF).

Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd. of South Korea was the winning contractor.

“The Jalaur Mega Dam submerged ancestral lands, burial sites, and communities, displacing families without fair compensation,” said Alenciaga.

The group accused the JRMP-II of worsening the militarization, red-tagging, threats, and harassment against the “tumandok” (native indigenous) communities in upland barangays.

The group blamed the displacement of some members of the indigenous peoples (IPs) Panay Bukidnon after the December 2020 deadly raid of alleged hotspots of New People’s Army (NPA) rebels. Nine Panay Bukidnon IPs were killed in a raid by the police.

“KEXIM and Daewoo must be held accountable. Funding must be stopped, justice must be delivered to the victims, and full accountability must be ensured,” Alenciaga said.

The other complaints were alleged violations of failure to mitigate negative environmental impact and the alleged non-compliance of consent from the Panay Bukidnon IPs.

Supporting the Filipino activists are Korea’s Advocates for Public Law Interest (APIL) and People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), which are calling for independent investigation in South Korea for funding the mega dam project.