Protest caravan held vs mega-dam project

ILOILO CITY, Philippines – At least 500 members of different sectoral groups under Bayan-Panay joined a caravan on Monday (April 22), in protest against the construction of a mega-dam, known as the Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project II (JRMPP II), in Calinog town.

The caravan, which started in Ungka Terminal in Pavia town of Iloilo, passed through the towns of Sta. Barbara, Cabatuan, Janiuay, Lambunao, Calinog, Passi, Dueñas, Pototan, Barotac Nuevo and Dumangas, and then to Iloilo City.

Reylan Vergara, spokesperson of Bayan-Panay, said the construction of the dam would only destroy the lives of people living in the Barangays Masaroy, Agcalaga and Garangan in Calinog.

The government has no exact plan for the relocation of residents affected by the project, said Vergara, adding that there is a big possibility these villages will submerged later because of the project.

Vergara said these areas would be at high risk to earthquakes because the big dam will be constructed in a site about 11 kilometers from the active West Panay Fault, which was the source of the 1948 tremor that destroyed 55 churches around Panay island at the time.

Communities affected by the construction of the dam will be prone to landslide, rock-fall and floods, said Vergara, citing the geo-hazard assessment of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau showing the villages near Jalaur River so vulnerable to flooding.

The JRMPP II is a priority project of President Benigno Aquino III, who himself led the groundbreaking rites at the Iloilo Capitol last February 21. (FREEMAN)