#Rightings: Mega-dam or mega damn? Theres no other passionate defender and champion of the P11-billion #Jalaur Multipurpose #Dam Project-Phase 2 than Mr Alex Centena, the mayor of Calinog town, on whose boondocks the mega-dam will be built. He was seen on TV passionately arguing there can be no stop to the project because it already has the imprimatur of 23 town mayors and the mayors of the two cities in Iloilo, and dismissed two big arguments against it. Unfounded, he said of the argument that it might drown villages should it overflow or crack or collapse because there are no people living in the villages near it; the area is a barren land. He also tried to debunk the other argument, made no less by geologists, that it will sit near a quake fault-line and might therefore be turned into rubble by a shaking of the underneath as a make believe tale. Himu-himo lang, he argued. And besides, its gonna be quake-proof. If only all mayors are as driven as Centena in pushing for projects and programs they believe in, this province would likely be home to the most progressive towns in the country. Passion is missing in many of the towns and so we see poverty, malnutrition and enrollment levels stagnating below the desired figures because their mayors dont have the passion to help these people. If the mayor is passionate, I think, he will go to the extent of knocking on the doors of national agencies and leaders, NGOs, donors, and his moneyed friends to provide sustainable industries to his voters. When passion for a good cause is absent, experience roller coaster rides on roads that are either unpaved or pockmarked for years, and bridges that are still in their peoples bucket list because they just wait for their congressman and the DPWH to fix the roads and bridges at their own time. Yes, there maybe other reasons that stop a mayor from delivering his campaign promises but there are ways, I am sure, to make ideas happen if there is that burning passion in them. Many doubting Thomases will certainly say they are just over eager and passionate in pushing their pet projects because not only will it earn them political cookie points when polls come, but, more impotently---kickbacks. It is the 10 or 15% of the project cost, most of us will conclude of the motivation behind the passion but though known to all, this remains hard to prove. And so I will leave it for you to say whether this is true in your town or not. I will just say Centena is so passionate because he thinks the mega project will bring a lot of good things to his town. He, too, is simply echoing the pitch of Senate President Franklin #Drilon. The begoded son of #Iloilo, who has brought billions worth of manna in this part of the archipelago, thumbed down arguments advanced by ex-Representative and ex-Tesda chief Augusto Syjuco in a petition he filed for the issuance of a Writ of Kalikasan against the mega-dam. Drilon said its a politics-induced charge from a discredited politician and that Syjucos bases are bereft of any truth. Drilon instead recited that his newest baby will water the rice paddies all year round and therefore increase yield, provide jobs to construction workers, generate hydroelectric power, and be a tourism destination. It will be an earthquake proof infrastructure, he said, so there is no need to worry. And, this is a project that dates back to long long time ago---Marcos years---so Ilonggos must be glad with its coming into a reality. Still I am not convinced. Is this billions-worth of dam the only pill that can make farmers have better yields? Are there no other less costly solutions? What will happen if it wont rain for months or years? Where will this dam get water to hoard? With this animal called #ClimateChange, we would never know if we have water to stock up in that mega-dam or thered be drought for months. Look around the rivers and streams around: are these filled with water to the level we saw them when we were just growing up? Arent these dry? I find more practical and effective the more appropriate technology in small water-impounding farm reservoirs. These wont cost billions but will be more accessible to the farmers. The water pond will be meters away from them and wont evaporate before it could reach their paddies. #Israel has a technology that needs less water for its crops. Why dont we study that and make our farmers do the same? It wont cost billions I guess. And we can even spare even a billion to pay off the debts of our farmers. Above these, the bigger puzzle to me: arent our rice scientists developing varieties that can grow with the least water because all scientists saw there is a worsening problem with water supply? If so, why are we investing on a water supply system when this is just a waste of precious water---a drop of which takes a years time to come back to the ground after being sucked up by the sun? The people need to speak out now before this purported mega-dam turns out to be a super proof that we are mega damn people. Now choose: do you want a mega-dam or be a mega dam?
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 01:42:43 +0000