CHICO RIVER DAM PROJECT

Guide Questions Answers

1. What is the project all The Chico River Dam Project was a proposed electric power generation project on the island of Luzon in the
about? Is it S&T Related? Philippines which residents, notably the Kalinga people, resisted for three decades because it threatened to
inundate traditional villages. (Wikipedia, n.d.)

Since 1965, the Philippine government has been considering the construction of hydroelectric dams along Chico
River. However, this plan was found to be impracticable due to high construction costs. The increased price of
oil in the early 70s and the threat of an energy crisis convinced the government that the cost-benefit ratio could
then be revised in favor of the dams.

In 1972, the National Power Corporation included the pre-feasibility study of the Chico river basin in the
package of projects to be financed by the World Bank under the fifth power loan. The feasibility study was
carried out by the German firm Lahmeyer International GMBH (Frankfurt).

In 1973 and in association with the Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP),
Lahmeyer submitted its Technical Pre-Feasibility Study of the Hydro-Electric Development in the Chico River.
Four dam sites were identified in the study as technically feasible for development.

Proposed Dams along the Chico River

Dam Location Potential Capacity
Chico I Sabangan, Mt. Province 100 MW
Chico II Sadanga, Mt. Province 360 MW
Chico III Basao, Kalinga-Apayao 100 MW
Chico IV Tomiangan, Kalinga-Apayao 450 MW
Total Capacity 1010 MW

Findings from the Technical Feasibility Study:

a. Chico II, Chico III and Chico IV were found to be economically feasible when compared with similar
projects elsewhere.
b. The favorable costs for Chico III, however, could hold only if it is considered in conjunction with Chico
II, benefitting from the latter’s regulation of flow.
c. Chico I was not as economically attractive as the other three dams
 d. The preliminary cost estimates recommended the following order of merit for construction in terms of
production costs: 1st – Chico II, 2nd – Chico III, 3rd – Chico IV and 4th – Chico I.
e. In order to make the proposed dams more attractive, their multi-purpose development should be
explored, particularly with regard to irrigation use.

In 1974, the Philippine government sent off the National Power Corporation on initial survey and
reconnaissance trips to the Chico II, III and IV. Chico II was given the top priority in the construction schedule
of the whole project with full blast construction projected for 1977 and completion by 1982.

All other dam sites were surveyed towards the completion of the feasibility study for the CRBDP by 1978-1979.

The project, however, was met with relentless opposition from the natives of Mountain Province and Kalinga.
It has not been able to proceed as scheduled, and its timetable has already been delayed by several years.

In 1975, all dam-connected activities at the three dam sites and the deferral of Chico II priority due to the
people’s opposition on the project.

In May 1975, 150 papangat or village elders and peace makers from Kalinga and Bontoc created the Bodong
Federation, Inc., which intended to work against the four hydroelectric dams that would deluge many Kalinga
villages, including sacred burial grounds and rice terraces. This was the first time the Bontoc and Kalinga joined
intertribal forces and declared their preparedness for armed resistance to defend their ancestral
territory.[7] Their plight was supported by many nongovernment organizations and religious groups such as the
Episcopal Commission on Tribal Filipinos of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, which helped
organize a conference involving 150 Bontoc and Kalinga leaders alongside church-based support groups, at St.
Bridget's School in Quezon City. The conference resulted in an agreement (Pagta ti Bodong) which formally
united the Bontoc and Kalinga peoples in opposition against the Marcos dam project.

By the end of 1978, Energy Minister Geronimo Velasco recommended to stop the project. When informed by
Velasco that there was an alternative to the Chico Project, President Marcos approved the recommendation of
suspension.

2. What past policies and

present bills are related? Administration Related policies and bills issued / crafted/ implemented
 Ferdinand E. Marcos (1965-1986) Presidential Decree No. 848: Constituting certain municipalities
within the Province of Kalinga-Apayao into a special development
region to be known as Kalinga Special Development Region (12
December 1975)
 Municipalities Lubugan, Tinglayan, Tanudan, and Pasil were
constituted as Kalinga Special Development Region, under the
direct supervision of the President of the Philippines through
the Presidential Assistant on National Minorities.
 It was created to:
1. Hasten the growth and development of the Kalinga people,
2. Enable the Kalinga people to participate more actively in
the national development effort, and
3. Coordinate and integrate into a long-term comprehensive
development program the various sectoral plans and
activities intended for the area by other agencies,
departments and instrumentalities.

Corazon C. Aquino (1986-1992)

Fidel V. Ramos (1992-1998)
Joseph Ejercito-Estrada (1998-
2001)
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (2001-
2010)
Benigno C. Aquino, Jr. (2010-
2016)
Rodrigo R. Duterte (2016-
Present)

3. Using EPISTLE, what is B

your analysis of the
project?
4. What will be your policy
recommendation