MANILA, Philippines (Updated 6:30 p.m., Feb.8) — The Metropolitan Waterworks Sewerage System said it is fully compliant with the free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) process after indigenous Dumagat-Remontado leaders opposed to Kaliwa Dam protested the signing of the memorandum of agreement for the project.
Dumagat communities in Quezon province whose lands will be submerged by the dam project signed the agreement late January. The MOA with indigenous peoples communities in Rizal province was signed in December.
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Critics of the project alleged the signatories to the agreement were pre-selected, community members opposed to the project were not included in negotiations, and the FPIC process was violated.
Dumagat representatives in Quezon also said they were told that only MOA validation and drafting of the community royalty development project would be conducted during a week-long gathering last month.
But the MWSS, the proponent of the China-backed dam project, said the agency adhered to the FPIC process.
"Consultations were conducted and consent was voluntarily given by the IP community through their decision-making process pursuant to their customary laws," Jonathan Lamug, division manager for Umiray operations, told Philstar.com.
Lamug said the MWSS was "duly and regularly guided and informed" by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples on the processes undertaken.
"The proponent MWSS recognizes the need to hear inputs, reservations, if any, of all sectors, which is what the FPIC is all about. All the issues were addressed which led to the signing of the MOA," he added.
NCIP review
For the gathering conducted from January 24 to 28, antigen tests were administered in compliance with the directive of the local government of General Nakar in Quezon.
Dumagat leaders, however, said that submitting themselves to antigen testing violates their sacred culture.
According to Lamug, those who refused to undergo antigen tests were given the option to join the proceedings virtually.
After the signing of MOA, the agreement and the FPIC report will be reviewed by the NCIP Regional Review team.
"The review is an integral part of the FPIC process and indispensable in the acquisition of the Certification Precondition," Lamug said. The certification precondition states that the free, prior and informed consent has been obtained from concerned indigenous peoples.
The 60-meter-high reservoir of the New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam Project will cover 291 hectares of the Kaliwa Watershed Forest Reserve and the adjoining ancestral domains of the Dumagat-Remontado communities in General Nakar, Quezon and Tanay, Rizal.
A 28-kilometer-long conveyance tunnel will be built from the dam site in Brgy. Magsaysay in Infanta, Quezon through several barangays in Tanay, Baras, Morong and Teresa towns in Rizal.
(Editor's note: An earlier version of this article referred to Jonathan Lamug as project manager. This has been updated to reflect he is division manager for Umiray operations)