LEGAZPI CITY, Nov. 19 --The Bicol Regional Development Council (RDC) directed the temporary suspension of the P700-million Libmanan-Cabusao Dam Project (LCDP) in Camarines Sur pending results of a project review.
RDC Chairman and Albay Gov. Joey Salceda directed the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in Bikol to temporarily put the project on hold following the creation of an RDC project review team composed of technical people from the RDC, Environment Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the NIA.
The team will review the project based on the approved standards and environment clearance certificate issued, including the reported project deviations.
It will also look into the alleged complaints of various organizations concerning the possible threats such as flooding and displacements of families to be affected once the dam project is completed.
The RDC has earlier endorsed the project for approval to the NEDA central office and it was subsequently approved for implementation.
However, when the project was started, some flaws were noted such as the awarding of the contract for the dam construction to A.M. Oreta and Co. were not presented to the RDC Infrastructure Coordinating Committee; and the failure of NIA to conduct a topographic survey of the area upstream of the dam prior to preparation of a feasibility study.
"Those flaws were not there when we endorsed it for ICC approval subject to ECC compliance and as part of economic resiliency plan" Salceda said.
Salceda said "the RDC, as an institution believes that the project would be beneficial to the region's economic development but NIA has to address the fundamental issues concerning the project."
Gilbert Gonzales, Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) regional director, cited some deviations made by the project proponent in some components, which were not stipulated in the DENR Environment Clearance Certificate (ECC) issued by Environment Secretary Lito Atienza.
He specifically questioned the viability of the flood mitigation measure instituted by the NIA and the possible displacement of hundreds of families, including its relocation once the construction of the dam goes full blast.
Gonzales said he has convened a task group composed of DPWH, NIA, Project Management Office of the Bicol River Basin and Watershed Management Project (BRBWMP), and EMB to discuss and address the various concerns and come up with a drawing board of alternatives.
He said the team would conduct sight visitation and validate if indeed there were changes or deviations made in the project.
"Dam not needed"
Earlier, Researchers from the Ateneo de Naga University's Institute for Environmental Conservation and Research (INECAR), headed by Dr. Emilina Regis conducted an initial investigative study to weigh the potential effects of the proposed dam project.
Dr. Regis explains that while proponents of the project have often cited the benefits of the dam to the farmlands in the towns of Cabusao and Libmanan, officials of the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) and the Bicol River Basin and Water Management Project have failed to emphasize that the municipalities of Lupi and Sipocot will be "direct impact areas which may be adversely affected by the project."
According to the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of the NIA, Lupi and Sipocot were classified as indirect impact areas. Regis believes, however, that when the dam is completed, it will directly affect 13 barangays of Lupi, or about a third of all barangays of the town. The researchers also claim that the presence of several tributaries and creeks can also mean that more residents will be affected than initially believed.
The proposed dam is expected to be 15 meters high and 150 meters wide. When completed, the dam will provide irrigation to rice fields 10.28 kilometers away in the towns of Cabusao and Libmanan. According to the INECAR's report, the system is "absurd" especially since it would be easier to connect to the river system nearer the beneficiaries.
Another concern raised by Dr. Regis and her team is the threat of pollution. Citing the soil composition in the proposed dam area, Dr. Regis says that the rising waters would erode the riverbank upstream and strong currents would carry sand, silt, and clay downstream only to be trapped by the dam. Household water and organic materials can then result in the uncontrolled growth of phytoplankton. This, in turn, can lead to algal bloom and the subsequent suffocation of fish in the river. The report adds that this can have a tremendous impact on the biodiversity in the area.
A similar study conducted by researchers in 2004 of the Barit River, which drains Lake Buhi also suggests that the hydraulic control structure there is one of the primary causes of the deterioration of the water quality in the said river. The report points out that the highly toxic quality of the lake water has resulted in residents being infected by contact dermatitis.
Dr. Regis and the INECAR also challenged the official EIS of the NIA, saying that the report focused mainly on the Libmanan-Cabusao situation without giving much consideration to the directly affected areas of Lupi and Sipocot. The same EIS also claims that the dam would cause 186 hectares of land to be permanently inundated. INECAR's report points out, however, that there are at least 13 tributaries not mentioned in the report that may have profound effects on many communities upstream.
The NIA's EIS also claimed that Brgy. Malaguico, where the proposed dam will be built, has "no reported flood occurrences except low lying adjoining rivers and creeks." Based on interviews and local accounts, researchers say that while flood waters often pass through quickly, the water level often reaches treetops as evidenced by the presence of plastic bags and various other debris on the branches. Furthermore, flood waters brought by Typhoon Rosing in 1995 inundated much of Lupi's town proper, which on average, stands at 14 meters above sea level.
The presence of a new large body of water can also place pressure on the riverbanks and the dam itself, potentially resulting in dam failure and flash floods, the report says. Dr. Regis also said that it is "surprising that a dam should be constructed for obtaining only irrigation water and inundate 13 barangays permanently, destroy vegetation, and relocate people."
Victor Nierva, one of the dam project's vocal critics, agrees with the researchers' findings. According to Nierva, there were also anomalies especially with how the affected residents and citizens in Lupi and Sipocot were informed about the project.
Based on interviews with local residents, the official consultations convinced them to initially agree with the plans because of the supposed benefits. However, they claim that government officials who presided over the consultations failed to mention the impact and effect the construction and presence of the dam would have on them and their livelihood.
Assurance
Meanwhile, the BRBWMP assured stakeholders that the dam project would be beneficial in improving the lives of the community in the area.
Assistant Secretary Tomasito Monson, BRBWMP program director, belied the claim of INECAR that the dam is unnecessary, saying it was without basis.
He said INECAR totally ignored the benefits of the LCDP, which are very substantial in terms of improving the lives of its beneficiaries and the local economy of the towns of Libmanan and Cabusao in the first district of Camarines Sur.
No mention of benefits to the towns of Lupi and Sipocot were mentioned by Monzon, however.
He said that once the LCDP is finished, it will increase the annual net production value of the farmer-beneficiaries from P207.5 million to P593.6 million. From the present 1,686 beneficiaries, the project will directly benefit 3,005 farmers and their families as a result of the increase in the irrigated area from 2,900 hectares to 4,000 hectares.
Monzon said that with the increase in the annual net production value from P207.5 million to P593.6 million, the LCDP was deemed financially and economically feasible.
RDC Bicol endorsed LCDP for funding on Feb. 4, 2009 as the project supported the objectives of the Bicol Medium Term Regional Development Plan and because of its social and economic benefits.
Monzon clarified that contrary to the claim of INECAR, the cost of the dam was only P700 million, not P1.9-billion.
Based on NIA data, the P 1.9-billion was the total allocation for the four major components of the Libmanan-Cabusao Dam Project (LCDP), which include aside from the dam, the construction of a 10.28-kilometers of link canal, 10.75-kilometers of service road, and the construction of new and rehabilitation of existing irrigation and drainage facilities to serve some 4,000 hectares in the towns of Libmanan and Cabusao.
Monzon also belied Inecar's claim that 13 villages in Lupi will be inundated once the dam becomes operational. The dam feasibility study prepared by NIA revealed that only eight of the 38 villages in Lupi and two of the 46 barangays in Sipocot would be affected by the back water of the dam.
The initial result of the recent survey conducted by NIA to validate its previous surveys and the flood that happened on Nov. 5, where the water level in the area actually reached elevation 15 (15 meters), showed that the flood affected only nine houses in Barangay Lupi Viejo, the town's poblacion, instead of the estimated 210 households previously identified by NIA in its previous surveys.
The BRBWMP plans to relocate some 323 households in 10 villages in Lupi and Sipocot as they would be affected by the rise of the water level once the dam is finished. But with the survey result and actual flood level that occurred on Nov. 5, Monzon said that the number of residents that need to be resettled will be lesser than the original number.
A comprehensive development plan for the affected residents is now being finalized by the BRBWMP's Project Management Office (PMO).
Aside from the provision of resettlement program for the affected residents who will be given houses and lots, the plan covers payment of just compensations for damages to properties and crops; livelihood opportunities; replacement of three spillways that will be submerged with new concrete bridges; and other packages of benefits.
As to the recommendation of AdeNU's environment institute for the government to consider less costly alternatives to the dam, Monzon said that the dam was the most economical and the only viable alternative to the expensive operation of the existing pump irrigation system.
"It's a long time investment to ensure that the livelihood of the 3,000 farming families in Libmanan and Cabusao is uplifted and sustained," he said. (with report from Alec Santos)