Laiban Dam project (Tanay)

THE BIGGEST AND most costly dam project in Philippine history may yet turn out to be also the most costly single resettlement project so far.

Up to forty percent, or P20 billion of the P52-billion Laiban Dam project could go to the resettlement and rehabilitation of over 4,000 families from the eight barangays that would be submerged once the dam project pushes through.

Green Convergence letter to MWSS
A source privy to the unsolicited bid submitted by San Miguel Bulk Water Company to the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) told the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) that San Miguel has committed to spend from $200 million to $400 million (P10-20 billion) on this cost alone, that is, if the firm is awarded the project. The resettlement will be undertaken by San Miguel through its social development arm, the San Miguel Foundation.

The high figure of P20 billion would already be twice the amount budgeted in the Project Cost Estimate approved by the National Economic and Development Authority Investment Coordination Committee, or NEDA-ICC for the Laiban Dam project.

In the approved project estimate, P7.4 billion was allotted for resettlement, and another P2.6 billion, for payment of right of way, or a total of almost P10 billion. By comparison, the actual infrastructure headwork, or the construction of the 113-meter high dam and the water tunnels, would cost P13 billion, or just a quarter of the total project cost.

“San Miguel (Foundation) has prepared an entire program for acquisition, and resettlement and livelihood,” the source said. “It’s a whole new package to address the usual issues in building a dam.”

The controversial project, which has gathered dust over the last three decades, aims to deliver an additional 1.9 billion liters of water a day to Metro Manila. But in doing so, the proposed Laiban watershed and reservoir would submerge seven barangays in Tanay. Rizal, and a barangay in General Nakar, Quezon.

Many of the affected residents from the barangays – Laiban, San Andres, Cayabu, Sto. Nino, Tinucan, Mamuyao, and Sta. Ines in Tanay, and Limutan in Quezon – are members of the Dumagat and Remontado tribes who consider the watershed area as part of their ancestral homeland. The village with the biggest population of 720 families is Barangay Laiban, where the dam itself will be located.