THE JALAUR River for the People’s Movement (JRPM) stands by its long-held concerns about the Jalaur mega dam project — concerns that were only confirmed by the recent statement from the National Irrigation Administration’s (NIA) Jalaur Watershed Management Office.
The NIA’s confirmation that the Tumandok were only paid P50,000 per hectare for their lands is an act of injustice. These lands have borne fruit and provided sustenance for generations and could continue to do so for many more. Yet for the NIA and other government agencies, a hectare is only worth P50,000 or P5 per square meter. That is among the lowest land valuations we have seen. In the Malampaya Deepwater Gas-to-Power Project in Palawan, compensation agreed upon between Shell Philippines Exploration and the landowners was P75 per square meter. For the Central Luzon Link Expressway, the rate was P135 per square meter. The Lower Agusan Development Project in Butuan City valued land at P737.83 per square meter. Even in some mountainous areas in Mindanao, land was valued at P25 to P30 per square meter due to accessibility and infrastructure challenges.
This is as good as asking for alms — and mind you, the one asking is no small matter; it is the government. If the NIA claims that this amount was approved by council elders, then they failed to even discuss how this figure — essentially worth almost nothing — would impact the Tumandok. If NIA insists that this was compensation for land use only, not land ownership, then they should have computed an additional amount to reflect the value of the land’s productivity over the years for the Tumandok.
The NIA claims they have nearly 100% compensated those affected in the upland area. The term they used is “nearly,” which means not all have been compensated. Let us remind the NIA that it has already been more than five years since the afflicted families lost access to their farms, and yet they still have not been properly compensated. This is damning and should be a cause for action against an agency that claims to respect IP rights.
It is also important to note that the valuation of trees and other plants in the affected areas was shockingly low. Bamboo, banana, and coffee plants were significantly undervalued. For example, banana varieties were priced at only P35 for tundal and P100 for sab-a per tree. Coffee, on the other hand, was valued at just P300 per plant. The local bamboo variety (kawayan tinik) was priced at a mere P15 apiece. This is not the kind of valuation our Tumandok people deserve — especially not from three administrations that have praised the supposed significance of the project while treating those directly affected as simpletons who can be easily bought.
It is not enough to compensate the indigenous communities based on the low valuations set by the government. They should be compensated for the negative impact on their culture and traditional way of life. The problem facing indigenous peoples all over the world is that governments and corporations think of the impact of development aggression only in terms of money. They forget that these lands, rivers, and forests are central to the identities of the peoples and communities that have been living there for centuries.
Nevertheless, under Section 5, Chapter 3 of the IPRA Law (RA 8371), ancestral domains are recognized as private yet community-owned property of the Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) and Indigenous Peoples (IPs). These lands belong to all generations and, as such, cannot be sold, disposed of, or destroyed. The law also safeguards their sustainable traditional resource rights.
However, the government’s actions have been in direct opposition to this. It has systematically destroyed IP lands and denied future generations their rights. In the process, they have divided Tumandok communities and made empty promises of prosperity.
We will not forget how the project was railroaded in 2011 without a genuine Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), and how the military was used in subsequent FPIC processes after the issue was exposed to the public. More importantly, we remember the death of nine Tumandok leaders at the early dawn of December 30, 2020, along with many other gross violations of IP rights.
With regard to irrigation, NIA stated that it “remains in close coordination with local governments and is targeting 9,500 hectares of irrigated farmland across new and existing areas.” However, it is worth noting that the original target was 31,840 hectares. Has this been reduced to just 29% of the original goal? We find this significant, especially in light of the ongoing conversion of agricultural lands into commercial and residential zones.
Let us remind the NIA that as early as 2000, the World Commission on Dams noted the social and environmental impacts of large dams — many of which did not deliver their projected benefits, particularly hydropower dams, which often underperformed in energy generation. In developed countries like the United States, many dams have already been decommissioned or destroyed in order to restore fisheries and riverine ecological processes.
In the Philippines, more than 400 hydropower projects have been approved, with 113 of them located within the ancestral domains of indigenous peoples — 98 of which are concentrated in the Cordillera Region alone. The sheer scale of these projects underscores a troubling pattern of encroachment on indigenous lands. The Jalaur mega dam, despite being championed by three successive administrations, remains deeply unpopular among affected communities. Government endorsement does not equate to public acceptance, especially when the costs are borne by the most marginalized.
Even the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has recognized the project’s flaws, tagging it as a “Problematic ODA Project” in 2024 and an “Actual Problem Project” as early as 2021. These official labels already cast a long shadow on the dam’s legitimacy.
This is not the first time indigenous resistance has been met with violence. We remember the 1980 assassination of Macli-ing Dulag, who stood against the Chico River Dam Project — a symbol of the long-standing injustices endured by indigenous peoples from the Marcos Sr. dictatorship to the present regime of Marcos Jr. Justice, for many, remains out of reach.
What NEDA failed to acknowledge is that the Jalaur mega dam is not just an infrastructural misstep — it is among the most egregious examples of a state-sponsored project that has committed gross human rights violations against the Tumandok people.
The Jalaur mega dam project stands as a grim testament to how development, when pursued without justice, transparency, and genuine respect for people’s rights, becomes a vehicle of oppression rather than progress. We in the Jalaur River for the People’s Movement will continue to assert the rights of the Tumandok and all affected communities. We call on the public, civil society, and institutions of justice to stand with us — to hold the government and its agencies accountable, to resist the culture of impunity, and to ensure that no community is sacrificed for the sake of false development. The struggle for land, life, dignity, and justice is far from over. – JOHN IAN ALENCIAGA, coordinator, Jalaur River for the People’s Movement <jrpm.panay2013@gmail.com>
