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San Roque Dam ‘Multi-Stakeholders Dialogue’ – A Farce

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s presidential assistant for Northern Luzon last Saturday organized a dialogue with Ibaloi folk on the controversial San Roque dam. But the dialogue turned out to be stage-managed, with the intention of eliciting more support for the dam’s completion and evaded demands to stop its construction.

By AUDREY MARY BELTRAN
Bulatlat.com

Clockwise: The controversial San Roque Dam; Village child joins his parents in a protest activity against the dam; Members of indigenous tribes in Cordillera express their demand Photos courtesy of CPA

San Roque, San Manuel, Pangasinan - A farce. No clear resolution to address the legitimate issues and demands of the dam-affected people was reached during the San Roque Dam Multi-Stakeholders dialogue organized by Renato Diaz, Presidential Assistant for Northern Luzon last Saturday, June 22.

While the dialogue was ongoing, about eight hundred peasants from Pangasinan and Itogon held a picket at the gate of the San Roque Power Corporation. They were kept at a distance from the dialogue by the Security Force of the San Roque Power Corporation and some members of the Philippine Army.

Militant groups led by the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA), Tignay dagiti Mannalon a Mangwayawaya ti Agno (TIMMAWA – Peasant Alliance to Free the Agno River), and Alyansa Dagiti Pesante iti Taeng-Kordilyera (APIT-TAKO – Alliance of Peasants in the Cordillera Homeland) - Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas-Cordillera attended the dialogue.

Aside from Diaz, present for the government were representatives of the National Power Corporation (NPC), National Irrigation Authority (NIA) and the San Roque Power Corporation.

Representatives of the Japan Ministry of Finance and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation were also in the meeting.

Joan Carling, chair of CPA, said the conduct of the dialogue was deplorable.

“Instead of evaluating the project in the context of upholding the rights and welfare of affected communities, the dialogue was geared toward finding solutions for the continuing implementation of the San Roque Dam,” Carling said. “Instead of promoting unity and cooperation for respecting the rights of all concerned, the dialogue’s format tried to incite conflict between affected peoples.”

Carling said representatives of militant groups like Fr. Eleuterio Revollido of the Promotion for Church People’s Response-Pangasinan and Pastor Vergel Aniceto of the Itogon Inter-barangay Alliance were denied entry to the venue but supporters of the dam’s irrigation component were allowed to come in droves.

In good faith

“Militant groups attended the dialogue in good faith, but they were somehow denied any voice with the obvious maneuver of Diaz to have the dialogue dominated by pro-irrigation and pro-dam participants,” the CPA chair said.

During the dialogue, Diaz responded to demands for compensation and livelihood assistance in the context of pushing through with the government flagship project. But he evaded demands of affected Ibaloi families and farmers from Pangasinan to stop the project because of violations to their basic rights to their life, land, properties and sustainable sources of livelihood.

Diaz was more interested in hearing the demands for funding to the irrigation component, rather than to address the just and legitimate issues of the affected people, Carling added.

Diaz, Carling said, told the community folk – being a minority – to sacrifice for the majority of farmers in Pangasinan. The CPA chair debunked this, however, saying that, “the majority of the Filipino people are bound to suffer from the operation of the dam.”

San Roque Dam tunnels under construction

“Heavy siltation which will cause the loss of farmlands, gold panning sources and other forms of livelihood will affect more than 20,000 people in Itogon alone,” she said. “Thousands in downstream Pangasinan will also be threatened with floods. Electric consumers all over Luzon will also have to shoulder the burden of paying for the $40-million government counterpart to the project aside from the high cost of energy to be charged by the San Roque power Corporation. The Filipino people will suffer from debt payment to the dam funder. Higher taxes and reduction for basic social services are surely to be imposed.”

The militants, meanwhile, expressed their support to the demands of Pangasinan farmers for irrigation during the dialogue. The dam, they said, will not solve the irrigation problem. The government and the people have to study irrigation programs that will benefit the small farmers, ensure environment-protection, and allow the participation of affected communities in the planning, implementation and management of this irrigation project, they said. They believe that this is achievable if the national government and funder of this project will have the political will to uphold the rights of the affected communities and work for achieving social justice.

Aside from the fact that the dialogue was, according to the militant groups, manipulated its conduct was also generally unprincipled. A man by the name of Gonzales – who took part in the Pantabangan dam construction and was among the pro-dam people who joined the dialogue – reportedly hurled uncouth remarks against those opposed to the project.

Members of the militant groups said they would only again join any dialogue with Diaz if it is done in the framework of recognizing the rights of affected communities. They vowed to continue their opposition until the rights of affected communities are recognized. Bulatlat.com

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