Ka Leody vows to stop Kaliwa dam project if elected president

Presidential candidate Leody de Guzman on Monday said he will stop the construction of Kaliwa Dam if he wins the May 9 polls, indicating that such a project is costly and will affect numerous people residing in the area.

During the PreSIYENSIYAbles virtual interview, the labor leader stressed that those pushing for Kaliwa Dam project, a venture traversing the provinces of Rizal and Quezon, should ensure that he will not be elected as president as he will surely oppose it.

The interview was hosted by Students for the Exploration and Development of Space in the Philippines (SEDS Philippines).

“Naku, ‘wag nila akong pananalunin. ‘Pag ako’y nanalo, tigil ‘yung proyektong ‘yan dahil wawasakin niyan ‘yung ating lugar diyan at banta ‘yan doon sa kaligtasan ng ating mga mamamayan. Maraming mae-evacuate, maraming madi-displace na mga mamamayan natin, maraming lulubog na lugar at mga barangay,” De Guzman said.

(Don’t let me win. If I win, that project will be stopped because it will destroy the areas there and threaten the safety of our people. Many will be evacuated, many will be displaced, many areas and villages will be submerged.)

The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) earlier noted that 400 individuals from 55 barangays would be affected by the P12.2-billion China-funded project.

Meanwhile, Bayan Muna Representative Eufemia Cullamat said more than 5,000 indigenous peoples (IPs) will be affected if the said project, expected to provide Metro Manila with 600 million liters of water per day, pushes through.

In June 2021, the House committee on indigenous cultural communities and indigenous peoples agreed to issue a resolution urging the MWSS and other agencies involved in the Kaliwa Dam project to stop any activities inside the affected ancestral domain of the indigenous peoples amid the absence of a free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC).

The FPIC protects the right of IPs to self-determination and to freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural development.

Further, De Guzman said that the said project is expensive and may even involve corruption.

“Tapos napakamahal. May korapsyon akong naaamoy diyan sa proyektong ‘yan dahil may mga nago-offer naman na mas mura, nagtataka ako bakit pinipilit na mahal ang kunin?” he added.

(It is very expensive. I smell corruption in that project because there are those who offer cheaper alternatives, I wonder why they would still take the expensive choice?)

The Kaliwa Dam project will be constructed by China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC) through an official development assistance loan of $211.414 million signed by the Philippine and Chinese governments in 2018.

About 85% of the project will be funded through a Chinese loan, while the remaining 15% will be financed by the MWSS.

The MWSS earlier underscored the need for Kaliwa Dam as the water supply capacity from the Angat reservoir and some other smaller sources would not be sufficient to satisfy the water demand of Metro Manila between 2020 and 2025.

This is however being opposed by some groups and individuals as it could adversely affect the environment and nearby communities.—AOL, GMA News