CA rejects plea to stop Iloilo river project

MANILA, Philippines - The Court of Appeals (CA) has junked a bid filed by a former lawmaker, seeking to stop the Jalaur River Multipurpose Project (JRMP) in Iloilo.

The appellate court denied the plea of former Iloilo congressman Augusto Syjuco Jr. seeking the issuance of a temporary environmental protection order (TEPO) enjoining the government from proceeding with the second phase of the project.

The CA said Syjuco failed to prove his allegations that the project would cause damage to the environment as well as to the indigenous peoples (IPs) living in the area.

It said the petitioner failed to show evidence of alleged illegal activities that would support his petition, said a ruling penned by Associate Justice Rosmari Carandang.

The CA said the testimonies of the government witnesses showed the activities in the area had been part of an agreement entered into between the IPs, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and the National Council for Indigenous Peoples for the conduct of a feasibility study for a road project.

It was established that the IPs themselves who asked for the road construction project.

Syjuco submitted photos of drilling and blasting activities at the site.

But the CA cited the testimony of a photographer, who said there were no blasting, drilling and road construction at the time the pictures were taken.

The photographer testified that he had no personal knowledge of the activities. 

In his petition for a writ of kalikasan filed with the Supreme Court (SC) last year, Syjuco alleged the project would displace about 17,000 indigenous peoples or around 600 IP households. He alleged the project would cause damage to the environment.

The SC issued a writ of kalikasan in October last year and remanded the case to the CA for hearing and resolution.

JRMP, the first large-scale dam outside Luzon, includes a 6.6-megawatt power plant and is expected to augment supply of potable water in municipalities around the area as well as Iloilo City. It will also provide irrigation for farmlands to increase rice production.

During construction, the project will generate jobs for at least 17,000 people.

The NIA has assured the public that the JRMP is safe and can withstand an Intensity 9 earthquake.