Drilon allays quake concerns on proposed Iloilo Dam

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Franklin Drilon has allayed concerns that the proposed P11.2-billion Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project-Stage II (JRMP), the biggest dam that will be constructed outside Luzon, will be sitting on an active fault line. 

Drilon said the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) had certified that the site of the project is not prone to ground rupture due to the movement of an active fault line. 

He said Phivolcs asserted that the Jalaur main dam and reservoir is 11 kilometers away from the West Panay Fault, the nearest active fault line in the area. 

Quoting Phivolcs director Renato Solidum Jr., Drilon said that even if one of the project’s component dams is five kilometers east of the fault, it is still safe from effects of an earthquake. 

He said the other components of the project are also far from the West Panay Fault, including the proposed Albunan-Ulian Catch (11 kms), Jalaur Afterbay Dam (12 kms), Tagbacan Catch Dam (10 kms), Jayubo Catch Dam (9 kms), Ulian Afterbay Dam (6 kms), and Ulian High Dam (5 kms). 

Drilon, who pushed for the construction of the JRMP, said he supports the recommendation raised by Solidum for a buffer zone against ground rupture hazard of at least five meters on both sides of the mapped fault trace.  

The JRMP is an irrigation facility with provisions for a hydroelectric power and bulk water supply. It is partly funded by the P8.95-billion official development assistance from the Korean government through its Export-Import Bank’s Economic Cooperation Fund. The government counterpart fund is P2.2 billion.

President Aquino formally launched the construction of the multi-billion project last month. 

“The Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project II is envisioned to augment agricultural production, stimulate agri-industrial activities, spur the local economy and the eco-tourism industry, increase employment opportunities and contribute to the over-all development of Western Visayas,” Drilon said.