Actions Against San Roque - Jan-Mar 2001

Tongtongan Ti Umili
January - March 15 2001

Source:International Rivers Network website http://www.irn.org/programs/sanroque/010516.0301update.html

On the Project and Government Actions
Dam Construction Now Cost 75% of Its Total BudgetThe ongoing construction of the San Roque dam project has cost the SRPC 75% of its total budget. The total cost of the dam project is P1.19B. According to John Lockwood , the Resident manager of the SRPC, the whole dam construction is now over the half-way mark and is expected to be finished by year 2002. The progress of construction for the actual dam is 40% to completion, the power house at 60% and the present work at the spillway is half-concreting.

The SRPC currently employs 4,000 workers, but for the actual operation it would only need 50 employees.

In a related development, Benguet Congressman Ronaldo Cosalan, Presidentail Assistant Diaz, and top officials of the NPC made an ocular visit to San Roque project site. During the visit various related projects such as tourism development, housing subdivision and road construction that directly links San Manuel to Itogon were taken up.

Itogon Resolution on San Roque Dam Deferred; P137.79 M for IWMP ReleasedThe Municipal Council of Itogon, Benguet revoked its endorsement of the San Roque Dam Project last January 3, 2001. The Council, in their review of the commitments, chided the national government for deceiving the Ibalois. According to Vice-Mayor Kato; "We have given them (government) time to prove their worth but they are worthless."

But the transmittal of the resolution of withdrawal to concerned government agencies was deferred. This is to give time for the NPC to comply until March 31 with its commitment to the people of Itogon.

In a related development, Vice-Mayor Kato lauded the new DMB Secretary for the releases of P137.79 M for the initial funding requirement of the Integrated Watershed Management Program (IWMP).
The Vice-Mayor said; "The people and local officials of Benguet are getting favorable actions. I think the body (municipal council) will have to reconsider its action," (Please see Attachment B for the other details).
2,849-Megawatt Potential of Cordillera RiversA comprehensive study of the potential hydropower sources in the Cordillera region showed that 2,849 megawatt is yet untapped.

The National Power Corporation (NPC), which made the study, revealed that the potential sources maybe developed into large, small, and minihydro dams. The study indicates that the province of Apayao offers the biggest source of hydropower with a total of 911 potential megawatts. Hydropower sources in this province are located in the Municipalities of Calanasan, Pudtol, Luna, and Cabugao. The same study showed that Mt. Province offers the lowest hydropotential with a total of 119 megawatt. These sources are found in the Municipalities of Sabangan, Baulso, Tadian, Sagada, and Besao.

The study was conducted to draw-up plans to augment the power capacity of the Luzon Grid. NPC explained that the study is also part of the preparation for the establishment of a deregulated power industry once the Omnibus Power Bill is approved.

A few years back , NPC started to implement its program for megawatt capacity addition from three hydro power sources in Cordillera-Northern Luzon Area. In its year 2000 Power Development Program, it calendared the implementation of three additional power plants for the period 2001 to 2005. With these new hyrdoplants, the NPC expects to augment the megawatt capacity of the Luzon Grid with a total of 561 megawatts from the Bakun Hydro, Casecnan Hydro, and San Roque Hydro.

Barangay Officials Harass Dam-Affected PeasantsLast March 10, 2001 in the evening, the three barangay officials from Barangay Narra, San Manuel entered Sitio Calmangaan and harassed the dam-affected peasants in the area. The three barangay officials were identified as Barngay Captain Bartolome Salcedo, Kagawad Boy Isidro, and Kagawad Gorospe.

According to a peasant in the area, the three entered the Sitio upon knowledge of the peasant organization's preparation for their organizational launching on March 13. They were after one of the organizers of the activity.

At nine in the evening, the organizers planned to go back to Sitio Camangaan to rest for the night. It was about that time, too, that shots were heard from a nearby house. The residents in the area said that the barangay officials fired their guns to instill fear in the community. "Nagpaputok sila para manakot," claimed one resident who refused to be identified.

After the firing incident, the three went to Narra proper.

After a couple of minutes, the organizers, thinking that everything was all right, wanted to go on with their plan to spend the night at Sitio Camangaan. But a resident who came from Narra proper advised them to stay in the community where they were safer. He reported that the barangay officials who were already drunk at that time were waiting for the organizers at Narra Proper. They were fully armed. Kagawad Boy Isidro even slapped a resident of the barangay who refused to reveal the whereabouts of the organizers.

It took Pastor Antonino Marzan of the United Methodist Church (UMC) and Kagawad Lodivico Collado and the police to ensure the safe passage of the organizers of the peasant organization to Sitio Camangaan and ensure their safety for the night.

The incident was the worst harassment documented so far with regards to the organizing of the peasant organization against the San Roque Multi-purpose Dam which will hold its founding Congress on the 13th of this month. TIMMAWA (Tignayan Dagiti Mannalon a Mangwayawaya ti Agno) or the Peasant Movement to Free the Agno, is made up of the dam-affected peasants along the Agno River. The harassment last March 10 and other earlier cases of harassment are seen by the organizers as part of the attempts to quell the mounting protests of the people against the government flagship project which is intended to serve the foreign mining companies and companies set to enter Northern Luzon in the coming years rather than the people.

Quotations from Various Statements

Of Dams and Mines:
"We all know that we do not need a dam in Cordillera, but it is clear to us that there is a massive promotion of the mining industry here. It is clear that these dams are meant to serve the power supply needs of these mining companies."
- Joan Carling, Philippine Daily InquirerJanuary 8, 2001

On the Approval of 9 Mining Applications:
"Our agency is only concerned with mining applications. We do not care about where these companies source their logistics such as power supply""Cordillera is prone to dam construction because of the beautiful terrain and our river basins."
- Edwardo Austria, Mines and Geological Bureau,
Philippine Daily Inquirer,January 8, 2001

On the Power Purchase Adjustment(The added charge in your electric bill.)
"For several months now, electric cooperatives serving rural electric consumers have been experiencing periodic and continuing electricity rate increases. This is due to the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) formula imposed by the Energy Regulatory Board (ERB) using rural electric cooperatives as their unwilling collectors.

The PPA is an amount inserted into our electric bills and does not represent any cost related to the actual production or distribution of electricity. For Metro-Meralco consumers, the PPA is 2.08/kwh or one-third of consumers bills. In the electric cooperative franchise areas, the PPA is now 2.13/kwh and constitutes 67% of the total electricity bill. This forced payment of PPA amounts to at least P200 per month for poorer households to P1000 and above for the rich.

For what and for whom is the PPA? It is a charge to recover P480 billion worth of overpriced contracts of the National Power Corporation (NPC) and Meralco to buy electricity from 35 independent power producers. This, we believe, is unconscionable."
- The Association Of Electric Cooperatives of the Philippines

On the Continuing Struggle�
TIMMAWA Launched To Free The AgnoTimmawa, a slave who had freed himself from the bondage of this master, is an appropriate acronym for the Tignayan Dagiti Mannalon a Mangwaya-waya ti Agno (Peasant Movement to Free the Agno) which was launched by some 700 peasants from Itogon, Benguet and San Nicolas and San Manuel in Pangasinan on March 13, 2001 in the Camanggaan Resettlement Site in San Roque San Manuel. Timmawa is a movement not only to free the flow of Agno River from the devastation of of Ambuclao Dam in Bokod, Binga Dam in Itogon and the infamous megadam in San Manuel but more importantly the whole life systems in the Agno River Basin.

On its launching day, the various peasant communities of Agno River were unified by the Declaration of Principles of TIMMAWA that upholds the peasants right to land and its resources.

TIMMAWA is an alliance that embodies the realization that farmers and their families can act together to free themselves from the bondage of their masters. In this context of out history, from the imperailust masters and their local cohorts among government officials who had been carting away profits from building a dam which eventually become a menace to all the people, mostly but not only farmers along the Agno River.

TIMMAWA Led International Day Of ActionOn March 14, under the intense heat of the sun, about 1000 peasants together with members of other sectors marched through the main thoroughfares of Dagupan City to protest the construction of the San Roque Dam.

The mass action led by members of TIMMAWA- a Peasant Movement to Free the Agno, started with a jeepney protest caravan that took off from San Roque , San Manuel , went all the way to Dagupan City where a march rally was held .

The protest action is one of the more than seventy various actions in 36 countries that dam activists have staged on March 14- the International day of Action Against Dam and For River , Water and Life. In the Philippines, this year's day of action was significantly marked with international solidarity against dams with the active participation of 20 activists from Japan.

"Power Purchase Adjustment: An Unjust Burden!Halt the Implementation of PPA!"- Electric Coops

Electric Cooperatives all over the country appealed to Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to seriously consider halting the implementation of the Power Purchase Adjustment (PPA). According to the Association of Electric Cooperatives (APEC), the implementation of the PPA is an unjust burden passed on to the consumers.

The APEC, with a membership of more than 5 million rural consumers claims, "for several months now, electric coop serving rural electric consumers have been experiencing periodic and continuing electricity rate increases. This is due to the PPA formula imposed by Energy Regulatory Board (ERB) using rural electric coops as their unwilling collectors."

The APEC explained that the PPA is being charged to recover P 480 billion worth of overpriced contracts of the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) and Meralco to buy electricity from 35 independent power producers. "This is unconscionable. Why are the 5M poor rural member-consumers as well as those in the urban areas being made to pay for this?" APEC asked.

The Movement Against San Roque Dam and All Mega dams(MASERDAM) supports the appeal the halt the PPA. In the near future, The San Roque Power Corporation will be one among the big independent power producers(IPPs) that will bleed the electric consumers financially. The power purchase adjustment is one of the scheme being implemented by the NAPOCOR to meets its obligation under the onerous power purchase agreement with IPPs.

"We are confident that the present administration borne into office by people power will heed the appeal of electric consumers that represent the backbone of the rural electrification program ," they added.

Pangasinan Broad Coalitions vs. San Roque Dam: Agkolabay San Roque Dam!Agkolabay is a Pangasinan term for "I don't like". "Agkolabay San Roque Dam"- is both the name and the message of a broad coalition of various sectors in Pangasinan. This coalition started two years ago as AGCOLA- which was against the call of the then Pres. Joseph Estrada for constitutional change. Last year it transformed itself as a coalition for the ouster of Erap, and now, against San Roque Dam (SRD).
Agkolabay is composed of Concerned Youth and Students, various Catholic Parishes, and Princessa - a non-government organization for peasants and fisher folks.

Another broad coalition named Pangasinan Citizen Movement for Good Government (PCMGG) has formalized its position against San Roque Dam. In their organizational assembly held last February 3,2001 the PMCGG declared its position against the dam project. PCMGG membership includes the Federation of Farmers Cooperative, business groups, and the dioceses of Dagupan-Lingayen, Alaminos, and Urdaneta.

The Promotion of Church People's Response (PCPR) is another big group of religious institutions who earlier took a stand against the SRD. They were the main convenor of the October 2000 Fact Finding Mission (FFM) on the Impact of San Roque Dam.

The membership in these broad coalitions comes from large area of the province -namely Western, Central, and Eastern Pangasinan.

Activists to Tackle WCD Report in a National Dam Workshop
International dam activists and advocates welcome the report of the World Commission on Dams (WCD) as it validates the claims of critics on large dams. The report has set forth a new international standard on development framework for decision making based on human rights. The Cordillera Peoples Alliance welcomes the report, especially its recommendations as this will further strengthen the struggle of dam affected communities in the defense of their rights.

The WCD on the study of dams have led to several recommendations one of which underscores the recognition of rights and the risks to all stake holders. But these recommendations will still have to be adopted by agencies like the World Bank (WB), bilateral aid agencies, export credit agencies, and governments. These recommendations of the WCD are not binding to governments and various agencies. The challenge now is for the anti-dam movements to raise these recommendations to national and international bodies for them to adopt the recommendations and strictly comply with the guidelines.

With the international launching of the WCD Report, the anti-dam movement will now take further actions to strengthen the legitimate cause of its struggle . These actions will illustrate what the WCD believes: "Our report is a milestone in the evolution of dam as a development option have demonstrated that the future for water and energy resources development lies with participatory decision-making using a rights and risks approach that will raise the importance of the social and environmental dimensions of dams to a level once reserved for the economic dimension."

The Commission, in its final statement said; " We have told our story. What happens next is up to you." It is this challenge that various representatives of dam affected communities from all over the Philippines and local and international dam advocates will come together on March 23-25. The study of the report will be one of the major workshop topics which will serve as the basis for drawing-up plans for concerted actions in the struggle against dams.