China-Funded Dam Threatens 20 Indigenous Communities In The Philippines

Powerful forces imposing their will on those with little power is a common theme throughout history. And, an $800 million dollar hydropower dam project that will displace indigenous people in about 20 communities along the Pulangi River in the Philippines may be the latest example.

The river flows through the Pantaron range of central Mindanao, where the Manobo Indigenous people depend on growing food and medicinal plants in the mountains they consider sacred. They do not wish to move from the tranquil river basin in Bukidnon province they call home.

Their adversaries are the Pulangi Hydro Power Corporation, or PHPC, China Energy Engineering Co. Ltd. and its financial power, and their own government led by President Rodrigo Duterte who continues to curry favor with Chinese President Xi Jinping and large Chinese investors. They view the project as a necessary improvement to the country’s infrastructure and power grid.

The deal is the latest in a series of connections between Chinese leader Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative and the Duterte administration's "Build, Build, Build" infrastructure program. It will mean the construction of a 143-meter dam and a reservoir that will flood about 2,833 hectares (7,000 acres) of Indigenous land in four municipalities, according to documents obtained by Al Jazeera. Even PHPC says the project will affect the residents of 20 communities.

The residents of the 20 towns do have a law on their side. Under Philippine law, the National Commission of Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), must conduct environmental and socioeconomic impact studies and obtain approval from affected Indigenous communities before a project can begin. And while the ink dries on already signed contracts, PHPC and China Energy have not released figures on how many households will be relocated or provided the required documents to residents.

Two other factors are thwarting the indigenous people’s efforts. The area is under martial law that prevents important information from getting to the mountain dwellers as to the project's potential impact. The other factor is that the area remains one of the world’s deadliest places for environmental defenders.

Military units regularly guard infrastructure sites in the Philippines and confront Indigenous opponents to projects. In many cases, community leaders are arbitrarily imprisoned or killed like Margarito Cabal, an organizer for Save Pulangi Alliance who was killed in 2012. He believed he was under surveillance by the military, which had branded him a member of the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the country's communist party, an act known as "red-tagging".

According to Leon Dulce, chairman of the Manila-based environmental network known as Kalikasan, other environmental groups tracking the project are being harassed by the government using "full-scale militarization".

Davino Padua Aclan, a priest at one of the four affected municipalities, said fear of militarization had kept residents from speaking out. "If the community reacts, it's possible the military will come here," he said.

Maintaining unity among the farmers and Indigenous communities is another problem faced by those who oppose the dam. PHPC has agreed to pay money to gain approval and some tribal chiefs have chosen to sign the deal over the objection of some residents.

Eminent domain, defined as the right of a nation or sovereign state to take or authorize the taking of private property for public use, without the owner's consent, subject to payment of just compensation does exist in the Philippines and is likely to prevail but the compensation paid is unlikely to be “just” to those not well versed in legal matters.