Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center/Kasama sa Kalikasan – Friends of the Earth Slams FIBECO Pulangi V Project, Citing massive IP displacement and Cultural Annihilation

Cagayan de Oro City – Like a wolf hiding in sheep’s clothing, the proposed Pulangi V Dam Project in the Bukidnon Area, is silently threatening the Manobo tribes and their existence.  Under the guise of looming energy crises, the FIBECO ( First Bukidnon Electric Cooperative) is strengthening its campaign in the area to put up the said dam despite the strong opposition of the Manobo Tribe.  The Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center/ Kasama sa Kalikasan-Friends of the Earth strongly criticizes the FIBECO in their blatant disregard of the rights of the Manobo Tribe and their territory.

Citing the issue of energy crises with a poor analogy on the topic of the tropical storm Ondoy and not to mention Pepeng why the need for another dam, FIBECO does not manage to clearly impart why the need for another dam is to be constructed aside from just emphasizing that Mindanao will have power shortages for the next couple of years.  It is hazy to note that FIBECO has no justifiable reasons and concrete statistics why FIBECO reasoned such power outages.  With the privatization of the power sector through the EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act) which created profit opportunities for private sector independent power-producers (IPPs), such provisions in the law lures and attracts investors to the power sector and in which the government would have to ensure the power producers’ profitability.  Considering the massive hydroelectric power plants in Agus I to IV in Lanao del Norte and Pulangi IV in Bukidnon , It is vague to note whether such investment of FIBECO are really for the interest of providing quality energy or for profit only.

With all the social obligations, rehabilitations and addressing the needs of the hundreds of families in the area, whether be it socio-political-economic aspects, it all remains to be a fallacy, a fantastic story weaved to entice the community to agree to their plans.  Even at the beginning of this development project, the Manobo tribe and other communities from the area have strongly opposed to such proposal, giving rise to opposition actions such as signature campaign, letters to the FIBECO and the filing of complaint to the office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples Office (NCIP).  Yet, It is apparent that FIBECO has not understood the clear opposition of the communities and the Manobo Tribe.  It is also obvious that FIBECO is not concerned with the welfare of the communities and the Manobo tribes despite their promises of rehabilitation and social obligation.  Throughout history, the Manobo tribe considers their lands sacred and the burial ground of their ancestors as highly-protected areas.  FIBECO fails to understand that the very own land that they are going to submerge and destroy through the building of such dam, is the source of their identities, their culture, their livelihood, their homes and their very existence.  The Manobo culture prohibits the transferring of their burial site of their ancestors, especially of Apo Mamalu, their Great Ancestor.  This site and their area are considered to be their last territory.  Such annihilation of their lands will be the slow demise of one tribe, one culture, a part of our history.

It is with audacity, lack of conscience and understanding that it has been pointed out that the Manobo tribe has been left alone to fend for themselves, in poverty and without any access to education, benefits and health services.  As if the building of the Pulangi V dam alone will serve the interests of these people and pluck them out of their misery.  Even those who were members of the community which were displaced because of the construction of the Pulangi 4 are still waiting for their benefits to materialize.  If ever they will be granted to them.  In an interview with Mindanews, Datu Rogelio Lahunay said that they have been advised not to agree with the proposed Pulangi V project because people lamented that a lot of Manobos lost their homes, land and livelihood because they were made to believe that they will be given compensation, but in fact there never was intention to do that at all.


Not only the establishment of Pulangi V will submerge their entire territory and their heritage site, the Manobos will be literally be left alone to fend for themselves, as they will lose their land and means of livelihood.  They are peasants and farmers in their own rights, and their means should not be forcibly taken away from them.  Such is a grave violation of human rights as Indigenous Peoples.

Ultimately, the rights of the Manobo tribe and the communities should be respected and should be uphold.  As strong opposition is directed against FIBECO, citing the rights of the Indigenous peoples Rights through the mandate of the constitution, the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act and of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.  The Manobo tribes, the communities and the people should scrutinize this agenda on energy if whether we need another dam, require transparency and determine whether such need for another millions of peoples’ money should be wasted to fund for this purpose at the expense of the Manobo tribe and the communities