ILOILO City – Indigenous Peoples (IPs) affected by the Jalaur River Multi-purpose Project (JRMP) Stage II being constructed in Calinog, Iloilo are demanding royalty fee and/or just compensation for the destruction of their ancestral domains.
They are also calling out the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Region 6 – the project’s implementing agency – and the mega dam contractor, South Korea’s Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co., for supposed violations of their tripartite Memorandum of Agreement (MOA).
“Ang number one worry namon kon matapos ron ang project by 2023, paano na ang claim namon? Paano ang ginhimo nanda nga violation da ya?” lamented Jimmy Lastrilla, head of the council of elders of Barangay Agcalaga, Calinog.
The IPs, represented by Panay Bukidnon-Halawodnon Indigenous Cultural Community of Calinog, claimed that massive quarry materials (rocks, sand and aggregates) were illegally extracted from their ancestral domains, resulting to the denudation of mountain sides, particularly in barangays Agcalaga and Alibunan.
This, according to the IPs, is a breach of the agreement stating that NIA and the contractor are obligated to “refrain from using in the construction of dams and other appurtenant structures of JRMP II sand and gravel/quarry materials from areas within the ancestral domain of the affected IPs, and that a corresponding amount shall be collected as a penalty in case this clause is violated.”
In January 2021, the Calinog Indigenous People’s Organization (CIPO), through its Council of Elders, passed a resolution seeking the assistance of the Iloilo Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) and Calinog’s Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO).
The resolution sought proper compensation for the IP or payment of royalty for the extraction.
Another resolution was passed in July 2022 requesting the assistance of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).
Also, in August 2022, the IPs wrote a letter to Daewoo demanding just compensation for the sand and gravel taken from the ancestral land.
Lastrilla said they are seeking a compensation of P30 per cubic meter.
According to former Calinog vice mayor Renato Casinao and now CIPO president, despite all of these, to date, no such compensation has been released and worse, the extraction of rocks and aggregates is continuing.
Casinao said the concern was supposed to be tackled by the project’s Joint Monitoring Team (JMT), but after a couple of meetings, there hasn’t been an update yet.
The complaint of the IPs has already reached the attention of former senator Franklin Drilon, who has been instrumental in the realization of the biggest dam project outside Luzon.
Through DYRI RMN Iloilo, Drilon said he “will request Engineer Jonel Borres, the NIA Region 6 official supervising the construction of Jalaur dam, to check on this, and if true, help the IPs (tumandok) get what is due them. No longer being in government, this is the best I can do for the tumandoks.”
PROJECT SUBCONTRACTOR HAS GRIPES, TOO
A Negros Occidental-based subcontractor of the mega dam project, Trimluv Builders and Supply, also complained against Daewoo for allegedly not paying their supposed remaining payables amounting to P11 to P15 million.
“When they started the project, kadamo sang demand sang Daewoo, ginhambalan sila kon may additional works, bill lang kamo. Pag-bill nila later, ginhambalan sila ‘ay indi na na part sang kontrata, indi kami magbayad sa inyo,’” said Atty. Aimee Quevenco, legal counsel of Trimluv.
In a bid to expedite the completion of the mega dam, Daewoo subcontracted the construction of the high-line canal to Trimluv.
According to the local firm, Daewoo convinced them to commence preparatory work even without a valid contract. Daewoo provided a Notice to Proceed (NTP) in July 2021, and the contract was provided in December 2021, with the owner being “forced to sign in a hurry”, cording to Quevenco.
Even without initial contract, Trimluv proceeded with the project and was assured by Daewoo that there would be an adjustment to the work scope and bills of quantities (BOQ).
However, Trimluv found out that the contract contained clauses different from those promised by Daewoo, said Quevenco.
According to Trimluv, they were forced to undertake projects not related to the main high-line canal. To date, the local firm has not been compensated for the additional work, and the scope of work and BOQ have not been adjusted as previously agreed.
Trimluv was eventually terminated by Daewoo as a subcontractor.
According to Quevenco, her client was just told to go to Singapore and complain there about the laws of the United Kingdom.
“For a small company like Trimluv, all we are asking for is whatever it is nga naobra namon, bayri lang kami sang insakto,” Quevenco said.
NIA-6’S RESPONSE
Through its regional information officer, Steve Cordero, NIA-6 stated that they are currently negotiating the amount of the royalty fee with NCIP and the IP leaders.
He said they have requested the IP leaders to fast track their counterproposal.
According to Cordero, NIA, through the Project Management Office (PMO) of JRMP II, has worked tirelessly to ensure that the development needs of the IP community are addressed.
He stressed that the PMO is always open for any concerns related to project implementation, thus encouraging stakeholders to avail themselves of the Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) for the office to immediately respond and address any issues and concerns related to JRMP II.
As to the alleged illegal extraction of aggregates, Cordero said NIA has already shed light on this issue several times before the Council of Elders, NCIP and Calinog LGU in several venues, the last of which was on July 11, 2022, hosted by the Calinog LGU.
“The PMO has made it clear that the extractions made by Daewoo E&C is part and parcel of the project implementation and primarily are confined within the project site, thus, these extractions were not illegally made by our contractor,” Cordero said.
He further explained that Daewoo needs to excavate these areas to guarantee the safety of the ongoing construction of the dams and facilities, as well as to ensure the unobstructed flow of the river. The extracted raw materials, having been found to be of good quality, were processed by Daewoo and reused in the ongoing construction of the project.
He added that as early as 2019, consultations with the IP elders were conducted by NIA in relation to the intention of the contractor to reuse the extracted materials from the project site for project implementation.
Apart from these consultations with the IP elders, meetings with and technical opinions from other agencies, including but not limited to PENRO-LGU Iloilo and Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), were sought by the office.
Cordero noted that these dialogues resulted in the proposal of NIA for royalty fee, which was submitted to the office of the NCIP and the JMT which was created to monitor MOA compliance of NIA, as early as Sept. 18, 2021.
Citing one of the several meetings attended by IP elders, NIA, Daewoo, and NCIP wherein the proposal of NIA was tackled, Cordero stressed that the IP elders and NCIP committed to finalizing their counteroffer to the proposed royalty fee of NIA.
“Another meeting was held on Aug .1, 2022, where the NCIP and JMT reported that they have not yet finalized their counter-offer and that another meeting with the IP elders will be held on Aug. 21, 2022, to finalize the same. To this day, the PMO is still waiting for the counteroffer to our proposed royalty fee, thus, payment of royalty to the IP community cannot proceed by reason thereof,” said Cordero.
He stated that the PMO is adamant that it has fulfilled its obligations to the IP community in this matter.
He added that payment of royalty is no longer an issue as long as all concerned parties agree during the negotiation process.
On the other hand, regarding the complaint of Trimluv, Cordero said a communication was already sent to them and NIA-6 will wait for their response.
He narrated that the PMO received an official communication from Trimluv on July 13, 2022.
The PMO immediately conducted a validation process to confirm and verify the details of the complaint.
After proper verification, the PMO communicated to Daewoo on Aug. 16, 2022, and directed the contractor to act on the complaint filed by the subcontractor and resolve it amicably and expeditiously. Daewoo, in its response dated Aug. 24,2022, informed the PMO that the contract between them and Trimluv was terminated on Aug. 15, 2022, because the subcontractor failed to recover or catch up with the substantial delays incurred. The same response from the contractor was forwarded by the PMO to Trimluv on Aug. 31, 2022. Since then, the PMO has not received any feedback or response from the concerned subcontractor.
“While NIA is not a party to the subcontracts of Daewoo E&C, any allegations or complaints against the main contractor cannot be disregarded by this office as these may affect the overall progress of the project. As such the PMO has been proactive in resolving any complaints against the JRMP II and in assisting the contractor to resolve complaints against them,” said Cordero./PN
