The Cordillera Peoples' Alliance welcomes the decision of the municipal council of Itogon, Benguet withdrawing its endorsement of the San Roque Dam project. In a session held last September 13, 2000, the council approved a resolution withdrawing its earlier endorsement of the dam project for unsubstantive compliance and non-implementation of the 17 conditions set by the council in July 1997 in exchange for endorsing the San Roque Dam Project.

The CPA believes that the municipal council's decision is highly commendable as it reflects the persistent opposition of the dam-affected communities as well as concerned citizens of Itogon and their supporters. The Shalupirip Santahnay Indigenous Peoples Movement (SSIPM) and the Itogon Inter-Barangay Alliance( IIB-A), together with CPA submitted petition letters, held pickets and attended en masse the deliberation of the Council on the San Roque Dam Project.

It is indeed a well-deserved victory for the people of Itogon that their government officials finally heeded their demand to stop the dam construction. It is also an affirmation of the earlier assessement made by SSIPM, IIB-A and CPA regarding the non-implementaion of the 17 conditions, as well as their long-held position that the adverse impacts of San Roque Dam can never be mitigated as claimed by its proponents.

With this development, the San Roque Dam Project now lacks the legal requirement for its implementation, as defined by the Local Government Code. This law specifically requires the official endorsement by local government units of development projects in their area of responsibility. The continuing construction of the San Roque dam now becomes highly questionnable, and can already be legally challenged. The project now lacks the informed and prior consent of the affected communities.

However, there are desperate and sinister attempts by government agencies and the NPC to subvert this requirement by coming out with deceptive packages of compensation for the affected people to accept the project. It should be recalled though that NPC has not fulfilled its promises to displaced families in Pangasinan and to those earlier displaced from the construction of the Binga and Ambuklao dams.

It is now the turn of the National Power Corporation (NPC), the San Roque Power Corporation (SRPC), JBIC and President Estrada to listen to the demand of dam affected communities to stop the project and to duly compensate those whose lives were adversely affected by the on-going construction of the dam. The dam proponents have already lost their legal ground to still insist on the implementation of this anti-environment and anti-people project. It is high time for them to abandon the project and rehabilitate the damage and destruction they have caused so far.

The campaign against the San Roque dam is now on a higher legal and moral grounds to further push for the cancellation of the loan being extended by the Japanese Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) to the project, so the construction of San Roque Dam can finally be stopped.

"With this recent victory of dam-affected people and concerned residents of Itogon, we shall continue to advance our campaign, and there is no stopping us to stop the San Roque Dam!", the CPA claims.

Mary Carling
Cordillera Peoples Alliance
Baguio City
Sept. 15, 2000