Killer dam

There are disturbing scientific findings about the great Bohol quake: the tremor was produced by a new, previously unknown fault line.

This finding raised concerns about the viability of human settlement in an island sitting on soluble limestone. Hundreds of sinkholes have been found, one of them right underneath a school compound and another beneath a small community.

The quake pushed up rock to form a ridge, opened up cracks whose depths could not yet be measured and damaged some of the famed “chocolate hills.” Much geologic study remains to be done to understand the peril lying underneath. This stunningly beautiful island — with its gentle people, unique earth formations, pristine beaches and rare wildlife — might not be there for very long.

How geologically different is Bohol from, say, Panay Island?

We might want to know. As in Bohol, crisscrossing Panay are numerous “primary lineaments” — the technical term for geological anomalies that have the potential for maturing into seismic zones. The new Bohol fault line, presumably, was long sitting there as a “primary lineament.”

In Panay, at a particularly busy intersection of “primary lineaments,” government is now building the Jalaur Mega Dam (Phase II). Despite the nomenclature, “Phase II” is an entirely new project. The initial phase was an assembly of water impoundment facilities built to support irrigation of farmlands in the area. “Phase II” is a large, imposing dam that will hold 172 million cubic meters of water from the interception of the existing river system.

Jalaur Mega Dam is a pet project of Senate President Franklin Drilon, possibly as a large monument to himself. He used his influence to push the project through the bureaucratic maze until it was approved two years ago.

The project has critics from all angles.

For its size and billions in cost, the project will generate only 6.6 megawatts of power. By comparison, a P100 million investment in a modern coal plant will generate 100 megawatts of power.

The project is criticized for being overpriced by about P2.5 to P3 billion. In which case, it is akin to the Iloilo airport, another project associated with Drilon.

There are other related questions about financing for the project, assisted by South Korea. Counterpart funding was committed by the Philippine government even if there was no appropriation for the purpose in the General Appropriations Act.

The project will dislocate thousands of indigenous people upstream. Critics say the requirement of seeking their informed consent was not met.

The area where this mega dam will be built is rated “high” for the possibility of landslides in the existing geo-hazard maps. The area is seriously unstable.

Environmentalists say the mega dam will destroy the natural hydraulic system of the Jalaur River, causing the infiltration of salt water where the river and the sediments it carries used to drain. This will make that area prone to flooding.

There will be massive habitat destruction upstream as the natural free-flowing river system will be converted into an artificial slack-water reservoir. That could become breeding places for pests. It could likewise produce unanticipated micro-climactic changes, including higher amounts of rainfall.

The real horror story, however, is presented by former congressman Augusto “Boboy” Syjuco. Storing 172 million cubic meters of water atop land crisscrossed by “primary lineaments” could cause the surface to collapse. That is like erecting a skyscraper atop a coral base.

If the dam breaks, either due to the ground underneath collapsing or as a consequence of a major quake, 172 million cubic meters of water will be sent crashing down on the southeastern towns of Iloilo province, including the cities of Passi and Iloilo. That will produce a mass casualty scenario straight out of a nightmarish movie.

This horrific possibility prompted Syjuco to seek an environmental protection order (Writ of Kalikasan) from the Supreme Court. The Writ of Kalikasan works on the principle of ensuring inter-generational justice by protecting future generations from the follies of the present one.

Last Thursday, the Supreme Court took cognizance of the petition and ordered respondent government officials to reply within ten days. That period for reply is non-extendable.

We will see over the next week or so how the respondent public officials, including Drilon, will confront the serious issues of public safety and environmental concerns raised by the Syjuco petition.

Non-event

Many of us tried to be home early last Wednesday to listen to an unprecedented prime time “message” from President Aquino. Most of us were disappointed by what turned out to be a non-event.

Our worst fears were confirmed: the President still does not get it.

A prime-time presidential “message” that breaks regular programming is normally reserved for a really dramatic event: the imposition of martial rule, a dramatic shift in policy or a declaration of war. Instead, the President rehashes propaganda we heard before laced with the usual innuendo and saddled with the usual dose of factual inaccuracy (such was when he grabbed credit for the COA report on the PDAF which was commissioned by his predecessor and done by career officers).

The two main things about the DAP that riles the public are: was this mechanism for redirecting public funds used to bribe the Congress and is the impoundment of GAA-defined expenditures and its deployment on the mere say-so of the President actually legal. Neither was adequately addressed.

It is not for the President, after all, to unilaterally declare the DAP constitutional. The President is being contemptuous of an independent branch of government when, as he did in that forgettable speech, tried to preempt the Supreme Court’s ruling.