MANILA (UCAN): “For the sake of the common good, we strongly recommend that ecologically sustainable alternatives be carefully considered,” The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said as it backed calls to stop the building of the controversial Kaliwa Dam. In a February 26 statement, they pointed out that the project is destructive to nature and would cost the government a lot of money.
Conference president, Bishop Romulo Valles of Davao, said the Church is not against development as long as it does not sacrifice the common good in the name of progress.
Bishop Valles, who signed the statement on behalf of the CBCP, said the government project “in the guise of providing water to Metro Manila is, to our mind, against inclusive development.”
The US$226.4-million ($1.76 billion) project that will be built in Quezon province, south of Manila, has been in the pipeline for three decades. Expected to be completed by 2023 if started this year, the dam is supposed to complement an existing one that supplies 96 per cent of Manila’s water needs.
The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System noted that Kaliwa Dam would add 34 million litres of water daily to areas in the capital and surrounding provinces.
However, the project faces vigorous opposition from Church and environmental groups.
In 2018, at least 51 Catholic bishops and four priests signified their support for a pastoral letter signed by Bishop Bernardino Cruz Cortez of Infanta, titled, No to Kaliwa Dam, Yes to Alternative Sources of Water.
Aside from fears that the dam would inundate about 300 hectares of forest land in the watershed, critics warned that the project funded by loans from China could be a “debt trap.”
Bishop Valles explained that the CBCP opposed the project because it will destroy the biodiversity of the Sierra Madre Mountains, home to the Dumagat-Remontados tribe.
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“We, therefore, call on the government agencies concerned and other proponents of the Kaliwa Dam project to stop its implementation,” the bishops’ statement said, also calling for a “proper review” of the project to correct its flaws.
Phillipine activists praised the CBCP’s statement and at least two opposition members in Congress thanked the bishops, saying their statement was “very welcome.”
Member of the House of Representatives, Carlos Isagani Zarate of the Bayan Muna Party, said, “The project will destroy the lives of (tribal people) in the area, devastate the environment and even surrender our sovereignty to China.”
He said, “We strongly urge the administration (of Rodrigo Duterte) to seriously heed the call of the (bishops).”
Tribal leader, Reufemia Cullamat, also representing Bayan Muna in the House of Representatives, assured the bishops that the tribal community will continue to take care of the mountains.
“The Dumagat at Remontado tribes have for years ensured the cleanliness of the water that flows in the river to the communities downstream,” Cullamat said.
She said there were ways to ensure that the capital Manila will have enough water without building the dam.
“It must be reiterated that the onerous and disadvantageous provisions of the Kaliwa Dam China loan agreement are very apparent on its face and they cannot simply be ignored,” Zarate said.
