Join us by using the hashtag #PutAStopToKaliwaDam to raise awareness of the need to stop the construction of Kaliwa Dam.

Reasons Why Kaliwa Dam should not be built:

1. The Dumagat-Remontados tribe in Barangay Lumutan speaks of the holy mountain of Putyokan, whose top provides the most spectacular view of the southern mountain range of Sierra Madre on the Philippine island of Luzon. It is home to a herb called karaklay, which acts as an antidote for common illnesses when boiled down into a dark, bitter liquid. In this barangay, where the only health center lacks resources and the nearest hospital is more than three hours away by foot and an hour on a motorcycle, the plant is absolutely vital. Yet, once the Kaliwa Dam project goes through, this holy mountain and its medicinal plants, and the eagles that glide along the ridges at the start of day, and the crevices and rock formations that conceal a lake fed by a waterfall, will all vanish.

2. The dam reservoir is planned to submerge 93 hectares (230 acres) of forestland, including 12 sites considered sacred by 11 indigenous peoples, as part of the New Centennial Water Source, intended to pipeline 600 million liters (159 million gallons) of water daily to Metro Manila and surrounding urban areas.

3. In a region with two active tectonics represented by the Philippine Fault Zone and the Valley Fault System, the planned 60-metre Kaliwa Dam will be built. The location of the Agos Dam is just 7-8 kilometres from the Philippine Fault Line (Infanta Fault). Hence, in the face of seismic activity, it is unstable and would risk 100,000 lives. 300 hectares of forest needed to absorb carbon would be lost by the project.

4. This forest is home to the Kaliwa Watershed Forest Reserve, with indigenous trees and endangered wildlife such as the Philippine eagle, Philippine warty pig, and Philippine brown dear, in General Nakar in Quezon.

5. This reserve is also essential to the resilience of the locals to the climate. In addition, the flow of the river will be redirected to a tunnel leading to Teresa, Rizal, for water treatment. As a consequence, the water source for Infanta will no longer come from the Kaliwa Agos River. This will impact fishing grounds, irrigation, and sources of drinking water. Water source will also be affected, and biotic and abiotic organisms will be endangered.

6. The project is in violation of legal protocols and will displace thousands of indigenous communities. The target building site will fall within an ancestral territory, where there are at least 5,000 Dumagat-Remontados. Around 300 of them will be directly impacted once the building starts. The project has so far failed to obtain Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) from them, as demonstrated by claims that the legal processes are being abused and railroaded by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and some local officials.