By SHERWIN DE VERA
www.nordis.net

TABUK CITY, Kalinga—Indigenous peoples’ organizations in the Cordillera warned of more rights violations in the region following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to prioritize funding for large dams for irrigation and other purposes.

In a meeting with National Irrigation Administration (NIA) officials, the president promised to ensure sufficient funding for the construction of large dams for various uses, including irrigation.

Sarah “Bestang” Dekdeken, secretary general of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance, said indigenous peoples should brace for the “threat of large-scale plunder and destruction of resources.”

“As expected sa programs and priotities ni Marcos, ipu-push niya ang large dams whether for irrigation, energy production or multipurpose. Regardless, [these] dams ay tiyak makakasira sa kalikasan, ancestral lands at banta sa safety at livelihood ng mga IP communities,” she told Nordis.

(As expected from Marcos’ programs and priorities, he will push for large dams, whether for irrigation, energy production, or multipurpose use. Regardless, these dams will undoubtedly harm the environment, ancestral lands, and pose a threat to the safety and livelihood of Indigenous communities.)

Dekdeken said the list of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) process violations and human rights abuses would continue to grow, as most rivers targeted for hydropower and irrigation facilities are within indigenous peoples’ lands.

Meanwhile, the Cordillera peasant group Alyansa Dagiti Pesante iti Kordilyera (APIT-TAKO) pointed out that NIA “does not have a good track record vis-à-vis FPIC.”

“In undertaking its irrigation projects, it has repeatedly been called out for either circumventing FPIC requirements or taking procedural shortcuts,” the group said.

They cited the Chico River Pump Irrigation in Kalinga, the Alfonso Lista Pump Irrigation in Ifugao, and more recently, the proposed Cabacanan Small Reservoir Irrigation Project in Ilocos Norte.

APIT-TAKO added that extreme weather conditions resulting from climate change have made hydropower an unreliable energy source and dams unsafe.

“Prolonged drought, or even just too little rainfall, could mean an undersupply of water—even if the hydro were a large dam with a large reservoir or pumped storage facility,” the group stated.

“A strong typhoon, or an abnormally long period of heavy and almost continuous rainfall, would necessitate the opening of a dam’s floodgates or could result in the water overtopping or even breaching the dam, flooding vast areas downstream,” APIT-TAKO said.

Under the National Irrigation Master Plan 2020-2030, the government aims to increase irrigated areas to 681,709 hectares by 2030. Irrigation development will come from new, restored, and multipurpose projects.

By 2030, the country’s irrigated areas are projected to reach about 2.6 million hectares, with rice production increasing from 17.14 million metric tons (MT) in 2020 to 23.6 MT in 2030. The expansion, all within the remaining potential irrigable lands, will be a joint effort between NIA, which will contribute 620,357 hectares, and other government agencies, which will add 61,353 hectares.

For 2025, NIA allocated P20.84 billion for the Pump Irrigation Sub-Program and P99.5 million for the Special Irrigation Sub-Program. Meanwhile, the second phase of the Ilocos Norte-Ilocos Sur-Abra Irrigation Project (INISAIP) received P7.88 billion, while P2.49 billion was allocated for the Balog-Balog Multipurpose Project Phase II in Tarlac.

INISAIP was one of three major irrigation projects under the Public-Private Partnership program in Northern Luzon, worth almost P38 billion, announced by NIA in June 2023. The president has underscored the immediate implementation of  “the long overdue” project in his home province.

The other two projects are the Tumauini River Multipurpose Project (TRMP) and the Upper Banaoang Irrigation Project in Ilocos Sur.

Marcos also outlined in his first State of the Nation Address that hydropower projects are an integral component of his renewable energy program.

The Philippine Energy Plan 2018-2040 aims to increase the share of renewable energy to 50% by 2040, awarding 277 renewable energy service contracts. These projects require an estimated investment of P2.06 billion, with P2.04 billion allocated for hydropower developments.

The Cordillera region has a vast hydropower potential of 3,600 megawatts, making it a battleground for dam projects over the years. The most recent of these controversial proposals are the Gened Dam in Apayao and the Saltan Dam in Kalinga. According to the Philippine Renewable Energy Atlas, Ifugao and Kalinga rank as the country’s top two provinces for hydropower potential. # nordis.net