WATER INFRASTRUCTURE AND INDIGENOUS SOCIAL RESISTANCE IN SIERRA MADRE, PHILIPPINES

The Agta’s Kaliwa Dam Conundrum

            The Indigenous Agta-Dumagat-Remontado (simply called Agta) is an Indigenous tribal group that has inhabited the Sierra Madre mountain range on the northern island of Luzon, Philippines, for at least 35,000 years. Since the pre-Spanish colonial era, the Agta have largely sustained their ecologically sustainable foraging lifestyle as hunter-gatherers, swiddenists or kaingeros. However, their pristine way of life would later experience disruptions from the Philippine post-colonial state and society. The most recent threat is the ongoing construction of the Kaliwa Dam, a highly controversial, Chinese-funded water infrastructure project in Infanta, Quezon Province. Initiated under former President Rodrigo Duterte’s “Build! Build! Build!” (BBB) program and continued under incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s “Build Better More” (BBM) agenda, the dam stands 60 meters high, costs approximately CAD$286 million, and is projected to deliver an additional 600 million litres of water per day. While framed as the long-term solution to water insecurity in Metro Manila, the dam aggravates existing multidimensional violence among the Agta, with irreversible costs that could far outweigh its benefits.

The Multidimensional Violence of Kaliwa Dam

            First, in terms of structural violence, the Kaliwa Dam reinforces existing geographical divides and ethnic disparities between the rural-based Indigenous Agta and the urban, non-Indigenous Tagalogs, alongside other residents in Metro Manila. The former Duterte administration allegedly engaged in politico-legal malpractices to subvert the constitutional process and perpetuate the ethnic discrimination of the Agta. The land where the Kaliwa Dam is currently being built is owned by Indigenous rural communities under a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title, with land rights protected by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Indigenous People’s Rights Act of 1997. However, in March 2019, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) reportedly failed to secure the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), citing procedural lapses and a failure to present the dam’s engineering design. In response, Indigenous representatives marched in front of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on August 8, 2024, and asserted that the project fell short of meeting the Local Government Unit (LGU) permits required under the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) granted by DENR. They also founded the “STOP Kaliwa Dam” (SKD) organization, launching a signature campaign throughout the Philippines calling for the former Duterte administration (and presently, the Marcos administration) to ban or reassess the project.

            Second, in terms of physical violence, the Kaliwa Dam—which is 30% complete as of March 31, 2024—is highly likely to cause the massive displacement of the Agta as the reservoir will flood 113 hectares of forestland. Marcelino Tena, President of Samahan ng mga Katutubong Agta-Dumagat-Remontado na Binabaka at Ipinagtatanggol ang Lupaing Ninuno (SAGIBIN-LN), estimates 10,000 members of the tribe will be displaced altogether by the dam, thereby putting their Indigenous culture and livelihood sources (e.g. farming and provision of assistance to Sierra Madre hikers) at risk of annihilation. Beyond the Kaliwa Dam, the entire nine-dam project that will be built along the Sierra Madre mountain is projected to severely impact a total of 11 villages and 39 indigenous rural communities. Should the Philippine Government fall short in upholding the rule of law and addressing the legitimate grievances of the Indigenous rural communities, these could foment social unrest. Such turmoil could provide Communist insurgents with an opportunity to exploit the disenfranchisement of affected individuals, potentially expanding their support base in these conflict-affected and high-risk rural areas.

            Lastly, in terms of political and economic violence, the Kaliwa Dam could further drown the Philippines into China’s so-called ‘debt trap’ in the long term, with catastrophic consequences to Manila’s strategic autonomy and economic sovereignty. To recall, China, through its state-owned energy conglomerate, is the main financial provider and the direct builder/contractor of the dam. Alarmingly, the terms of debt repayment under Chinese Overseas Development Assistance (ODA)—2.00% interest over 20 years—are significantly less favourable than those offered by other lending countries, such as South Korea (0.15% interest over 40 years) and Japan (0.10% – 0.75% interest over 30 – 40 years). Critics such as Tony La Viña, Joy Reyes, and Antonio Carpio argue that such an onerous provision will not only impose a heavy burden on Filipino taxpayers but also grant Beijing leverage over the Philippine government. This could manifest in the collateralization of gas and oil in Reed Bank or the adoption of Chinese arbitration rules in future debt restructuring arrangements.

Finding the Middle Ground

            The ongoing construction of the Kaliwa Dam remains one of the hotly contested water infrastructure developments in the Philippines, warranting both careful scrutiny and urgent action. Rather than narrowly focusing on ensuring water security in the National Capital Region alone, the Philippine Government must approach the issue with a more holistic and inclusive perspective on human security. Therefore, the incumbent Marcos administration must seize this golden window of opportunity to redress the legitimate grievances of the Indigenous Agta-Dumagat-Remontado and reverse the policy directive of the former Duterte administration. It must strike the right balance between protecting Indigenous rural communities, their ancestral domain, and way of life, on the one hand, while also exploring sustainable alternatives for ensuring Manila Metro’s water supply. For example, Osaka-based Global Utility Development Corporation (GUDC) has proposed a 7-meter weir, or low dam, with a capacity of 550 million litres per day and 16 kilometer-long tunnel. Such an alternative could prevent the inundation of the Sierra Madre mountain range, avert the massive displacement of the Agta people, and mitigate the irreversible destruction of their ancestral domain, which could render them susceptible to radicalization by Communist insurgents. Additionally, it would reduce the financial risk associated with high-interest Chinese ODA. The last thing the Philippines would want to see is for its people and land to be submerged in water, or for its coffer to drown in debt.