TOPIC: Kaliwa Dam Project

TITLE: Kaliwa Dam: A Destructive Project yet an eye opener

The Kaliwa Dam Project serves as an eye opener for the Filipinos to encourage them to

use water efficiently which may help our indigenous people, living below the Sierra Madre, to

preserve the environment that they are currently living as they are susceptible of being taken

away from the mountain range for the construction of the Kaliwa Dam.

Thesis Statement: The longest mountain range of the Philippines, Sierra Madre, which is home

to a variety of endangered animals, is being exploited by the government with their plan of

constructing a water reservoir along the said mountain range. Former President Rodrigo

Duterte seeked financial aid from China in hopes of building the Kaliwa Dam which he made a

deal with them, making him decided to start building the dam, as the project was already

founded by China. Many enviromental activists raised their concerns with this decision, as the

deemed project is destructive for the current condition of Sierra Madre, as well as being

disrespectful to the indigenous people who live there for ages. Which I agree, for the reason

that the activist provided alternative solutions for the declining supply of water in our current

dams, such us Angat and La mesa Dam, which was the main purpose why our government

wants to pursue the Kaliwa Dam Project, for the additional water supply that may help to

sustain for the future generations.

Building the Kaliwa dam will cause a long-term and irreversible damage to Sierra Madre and its

biodiversity (Haribon Foundation, 2019).

According to UNESCO World Heritage Center, the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park

(NSMNP) is the largest protected area in the Philippines. It is rich in terms of genetics, species,

and habitat diversity. It is the home of different endangered species, including the critically

endangered, Philippine Eagle. This system of mountain ranges offers space for the growth and

development of special habitats and the plants and animals that inhabit them, and it is

characterized as a long mountain chain that provides habitat for a wide variety of plant and

animal species which are adapted to different ecological niches. Sierra Madre has such a

diverse ecology that needs to be preserve but with the project of building a water reservoir on

it, I don't think it could recover for the damage that we would've done. Consequently, the

process involving the Kaliwa Dam Project has been proven a violation to the Republic Act 9125

as it states here that Northern Sierra Madre Park is a protected area and it shouldn't be

destroyed and disrupted its ecosystem by any means. As the law is involved in the situation, the

project shouldn't be pursue in the means of complying the law that aids to preserve the

protective area thus the Kaliwa dam is a destructive to the environment.

Sierra Madre is the "Backbone of Luzon", protecting us from harsh typhoons as it serves as a

protective barrier (Varona, 2022).

Sierra Madre has a lot of things that it can positively offer to Luzon. Varona (2022)

mentioned in her article that the mountain range isn't just a primary home for different wildlife
species but it is also our source of basic human commodities such as water, foods, and clean

air. She also emphasized that the Sierra Madre is just like an "admireable mother", as it gives

the needs of the people while also protecting them from harm. Its terrain and uneven structure

of land mass provide a buffer to the communities of Central Luzon that slows down typhoon

and somehow dissolving its wind strength, lessening the damage and effect that it might cause

to the community behind the great Sierra Madre. Recently this year, we experienced how great

the power of Sierra Madre in protecting us from the super typhoon, "Karding". In return for its

glory, should we pursue the construction of the Kaliwa Dam that may permanently damage the

mountain range?

According to the article, the Kaliwa Dam project would displace thousands of indigenous

peoples (Haribon Foundation, 2019).

The site where the dam supposedly build is where the community of Dumagat-

Remantados is situated (Haribon Foundation, 2019). Once the construction has started,

numerous indigenous people (IPs) from the impacted barangays in Tanay, Infanta, and General

Nakar would be compelled to leave their ancestral domain, which is the source of their

livelihood and identity, despite the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act protecting the right of

indigenous communities to a free, prior, and informed consent process (Haribon Foundation,

2019). I can't imagine having to leave what you have used to and you have no choice but to

comply for the sake of the others and somehow for the future generations as well. That's why I

don't agree in pushing the project further as many people would be affected by it.
In conclusion, the purpose of the Kaliwa Dam Project is beneficial only for certain parts of the

Philippines, particularly the NCR and other regions in Central and Southern Luzon due to the

fact that the demand for accessible clean water is increasing but the water level of water

reservoir is dropping tremendously. But the damaged it might cost is irreversible and

destructive not only in the people living in the lands of Sierra Madre but also the endangered

animals and endemic plants that serves as their habitat making them more vulnerable to

extinction. As many people are now exposed to this issue when the Sierra Madre continues to

prove its benefits to us, living in Luzon, especially when a typhoon is about to hit the area that

we live, I really hope that we can now make a change from ourselves. Metropolitan

Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) is making their ways to help conserve water supply

as well as restoring and improving current water reservoir in order to prevent the construction

of the Kaliwa dam. The distributors of clean waters are now making rotational water

interruption to the compliance of the limited supply which might be controversial but I think I

will help the consumer to practice how to conserve and lessen their waste on their daily water

consumption. We can also apply advanced technologies for treating and converting used water

into a usable water particularly for agricultural irrigation as it is one of the top uses of fresh

clean water.

References:

Cahiles-Magkilat, C. L. &. B. (2019, November 3). The Kaliwa dam — an old controversy.
 https://mb.com.ph/2019/11/04/the-kaliwa-dam-an-old-controversy/?amp

Haribon Foundation. (2019, July 26). Stop Kaliwa Dam. https://haribon.org.ph/stop-

kaliwa-dam/

Moya, J. (2022, February 17). When Man Wreaks Havoc on Nature: The Controversial

Kaliwa Dam Project Explained. Tatler Asia. https://www.tatlerasia.com/power-

purpose/ideas-education/kaliwa-dam-project-explained

UNESCO World Heritage Centre. (n.d.). Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park and outlying

areas inclusive of the buffer zone - UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5037/

Varona, A. (2022, October 3). Sierra Madre: The backbone of Mother Nature’s protection.

The Manila Times.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2022/10/04/opinion/columns/sierra-madre-the-

backbone-of-mother-natures-protection/1860861