A LEGAL advocacy group said the proposed Pulangi V Hydro dam in Bukidnon will threaten the existence of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in the area, while criticizing the proponents for its alleged failure to justify the project.

The First Bukidnon Electric Cooperative (Fibeco) has allegedly campaigned for the project despite the possibility that it would inundate at least 22 villages from seven towns in Bukidnon and Cotabato provinces, said the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center/Kasama sa Kalikasan (LRC-KsK).


The project is still on the consultation process but is already being opposed by the Manobo tribes in the area, fearing that the mega dam would threaten their existence, the LRC-KsK said in a statement.

"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 is strengthening its campaign in the area to put up the said dam despite the strong opposition of the Manobo Tribe," LRC-KsK said in a statement.

Around 4,000 tribesmen from the towns of Damulog, Kibawe, Dangcagan, Kitaotao, and President Roxas in North Cotabato signed a manifesto declaring their opposition to the project last week.

The manifesto was formally filed before the Department of Energy (DOE), said Carl Cesar Rebuta of the LRC-KsK.

When completed, the dam-which would generate at least 300 megawatts of power-is said to be the biggest in Mindanao.

But LRC-KsK said Fibeco has not provided clear-cut explanation to justify the project-other than "citing the issue of energy crises."

Anchoring the project energy crises was a product of "poor analogy" on Fibeco's part, LRC-KsK said, noting that the tropical storms that hit the country have provided lessons why the construction of dams should be tempered with actual necessity.

It said "FIBECO has no justifiable reasons and concrete statistics" to validate the project, and that it may have been only conceived for "profit" and not on "providing quality energy."

"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," the legal group said.

Victor Bantao, tribal chieftain in Damulog town, said the construction and development of the said Pulangi V dam violates the rights of the Indigenous Peoples in the area because they were not consulted about it.

"We put equal emphasis to the fact that the Philippine Government is a signatory, has ratified, and therefore, has acceded to the provision of the United Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous peoples (Umdrip) and United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (Uncerd) to respect and protect our rights to determine and decide our priorities for development," said Bantao in a press statement. (This article corrects the earlier related story published yesterday on page 2, which quoted tribal chieftain Victor Bantao as saying that the "dam violates rights of the Indigenous Peoples in the area because they were consulted about it." The sentence should have read: "...dam violates the rights of the Indigenous Peoples in the area because they were not consulted about it."-The Editor)

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/ngo-slams-mdanaos-biggest-hydro-dam-project