The church as a body of Christ must protect the vessel, our planet, which holds us all. As good stewards of God’s creation, we must be mindful of keeping the balance of our ecosystem for life and sustainability not only for the present but for future generations as well.
The Kaliwa, Kanan and Laiban Dam projects for the “New Centennial Water Source”, is a chain of mega dam projects in the Sierra Mountain range. It is part of the “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program of the administration which will be funded by private foreign investments, local businesses, and official development assistance (ODA). Critics of the BBB program say that this will greatly increase government debt that will be shouldered by taxpayers. A major source of funds for the Php12.2 billion Kaliwa Low Dam will come from China ODA. According to Ibon Foundation, China ODA has onerous conditions and its high interest rates of as much as 3% make it more like a commercial loan.
The government is trumpeting that the project will help resolve the water crisis in Metro Manila and will help irrigate nearby farms. However, environmentalists and scientists, based on studies, have sounded the alarm that the construction of the Kaliwa and Laiban dams will displace around 6,214 households and flood barangays in Tanay, Rizal and General Nakar, Quezon. Majority of the affected are the Dumagat and Remontado indigenous peoples. The Kaliwa Watershed Forest Reserve, an environmentally critical area, will also be flooded and the impacts of the destruction of the ecosystem will be irreversible.
Four decades ago, the NCCP spoke for genuine development. Genuine development ensures that the whole of creation is protected. In safeguarding our environment, we must always take into account, the communities of indigenous people that have sustainably nurtured our forests, their ancestral domains, for generations. When so-called development projects threaten our environment and our indigenous sisters and brothers, we must stand with them and lift up our voice without fear, in defending creation. We thus say NO to KALIWA-KANAN-LAIBAN Dam Project.
“…that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. (Romans 8:21)
*Approved by the 25th General Convention of NCCP last November 25 – 28, 2019 at the Lutheran Center, Sta. Mesa, Manila.
