Research group IBON Foundation, a convenor of the Water for the People Network, asked the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) to stop the joint-venture proposal of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) as well as the bidding process that will revive the controversial Laiban dam project because it is marked by allegations of corruption and cronyism.

A report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) revealed that San Miguel Bulk Water Co. submitted an unsolicited joint-venture proposal to build and operate the P52-billion Laiban Dam in Tanay, Rizal, but the proposal reportedly favors alleged Arroyo crony SMC Chair Danding Cojuangco. The deadline for rival bidders of SMC is on July 8, but the PCIJ report said that MWSS only made an announcement on July 2, making the project almost a done deal for SMC.

In truth, the Arroyo administration has been trying to revive the Laiban dam as early as 2003 when it listed the project for Asian Development Bank (ADB) loans, and later for a $910-million-loan from China. As in many anomalous infrastructure projects under the Arroyo government that are marked by allegations of corruption such as the NBN-ZTE, IMPSA, Piatco, Northrail, World Bank road projects etc., the Laiban project could possibly contain concessions that may prove profitable for a few Arroyo allies.

The SMC proposal is the latest attempt to revive the project after the MWSS abandoned it in 1989, but the deal is allegedly lacking in available public data. According to IBON, the MWSS should fully disclose details of the joint-venture deal especially since the impact of the project on water rates will be effectively shouldered by consumers.

The group fears that the deal might contain questionable details such as a guaranteed fee provision similar to the controversial CE-Casecnan Multipurpose Project which required government to pay for 20 years whether or not water is actually delivered.

Moreover, the cost of rehabilitating the Laiban dam includes the displacement of about 10,000 residents, including Dumagat communities. The project will also affect around 27,800 hectares of ancestral and agricultural lands.

IBON also questions the supposed water shortage as a reason behind the Laiban dam revival. In the first place, the perceived water shortage in Metro Manila should have already been addressed if private concessionaires Manila Water Company Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. only fulfilled their long-standing obligation to improve the infrastructure of the water system.

The two water companies, which took over when MWSS was privatized in 1997, have failed to improve water services and provide adequate access to water to Metro Manila residents. Water losses, for instance, due to poor and dilapidated pipe networks and pilferage remain high at around 70% in the west zone (Maynilad) and 36% in the east zone (Manila Water).

In addition, the construction of Laiban Dam will not ensure that poor consumers in Metro Manila will enjoy efficient and affordable water services from the private water companies as their 10-year track records show.

While the construction of dams is not necessarily bad, the practice of building and operating large-scale dams has become a mechanism of control over water resources that seriously undermines the interests of vulnerable social sectors. IBON says that the joint-venture deal should be cancelled because it allows private corporations to manage the Laiban dam and further gain control over the country’s water resources. IBON Media