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Militant farmers in Pangasinan slam megadam financier

URDANETA CITY, Pangasinan (Feb. 10) — Farmers displaced by the San Roque Multi Purpose Dam (SRMPD) in San Manuel town continue to raise protest as the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) recently loaned $40 million to the National Power Corporation for SRMPD-related projects.

Pangasinan peasant group Tignay dagiti Mannalon a Mangwaya-waya iti Agno (Timmawa) said financing further other projects related to the dam “would harbor future damages to life, livelihood and threat to security of people”.

Cause-oriented groups in a peasant forum here on Saturday rallied against the disbursement, which gathered over 200 individuals from various sectoral groups.

The amount was released on January 31, 2005 which is also the remaining loan from the $400 million untied load for San Roque Dam Project. The amount was negotiated between JBIC and NPC in 1999.

In 2003, Japanese Prime Minister Kouzomi gave President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo the pledge for overseas developments aid (ODA) loan for the Agno River Integrated Irrigation Project. Under state-run National Irrigation Administration (NIA), the project is seen to rehabilitate worn-out facilities along the river which will benefit about 28,000 families in 17 municipalities in Pangasinan and nearby Tarlac, but JBIC is yet to release the $7.5 billion loan.

Timmawa claims that the project still has outstanding issues of unpaid compensation to over 3,000 gold panners who were “deprived” of livelihood during the construction while 500 hectares of land in San Nicolas town were left unpaid.

“About 5,000 hectares of abundant land was snatched away when the dam’s power house and reservoir are being built,” said Jose Doton, Timmawa chairperson.

Last October, some 1,500 members of Timmawa underwent a validation process by NPC for full compensation, or an initial P30,000 loan agreement to heads of families to cushion the demands for full payment.

The matter was brought to the attention of JBIC Environmental Monitoring Team who visited during the same period in a mission to reassess the project’s impacts. Hirobumi Takaoka, head of the team, said that issues related to the dam are among the responsibilities of San Roque Power Corporation (SRPC) and NPC. Takaoka cited that project reevaluation would be made with stakeholders including the Philippine government.

Hozue Hatae of Friends of the Earth-Japan (FOE-J), a non-government organization (NGO) serving as watchdog for JBIC funded projects said that the agency which uses Japan’s public taxes should ensure that ODA aided projects do not damage the livelihoods and environment of affected communities. “According to SRPC’s own survey in Camanggaan Resettlement area in San Manuel, 80% of relocatees earn less than P3,000 a month,” she said, adding that, “it should be SRPC’s responsibility to restore the living standards of affected people which do not show in their findings”.

Hatae said during the forum said that her group has sent a comment urging Japan’s Diet and its Ministry of Finance to review the JBIC disbursement of the fund remains.

Meanwhile, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan)-Pangasinan feared that bigger floods would swamp the province during the monsoon months should the dam persist to operate. Rev. Fr. Eleuterio Revollido, Bayan-Pangasinan chairperson said “the unprecedented flood that drowns Pangasinan and nearby provinces spawned by typhoon Chedeng in 2003 was aggravated by the dam’s unmonitored excess water release”.

Ronald San Juan, Urdaneta City Administrator said the local government has done flood mitigating measures to counter the calamity such as river widening, drainage clean-up and purchase of pump boat.
The local government is eyeing villages situated in higher grounds for ossible construction of a two-storey evacuation center for flood-stricken communities. # Jhong dela Cruz for NORDIS

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