Chico River Pump Irrigation Project (CRPIP)

Project Structure

*No diagram and actual defined project structure listed in case study

Issues

There is a threat that the project will lead to environmental degradation, including widespread
flooding, and consequently contribute to disturbing the rich biodiversity in the area. According to Laviña and Reyes (2019), the CRPIP is “development aggression at its worst,” considering that it is “bad for nature and our people, and will result in social conflict and fuel an already intensifying insurgency in both the Sierra Madre and the Cordillera.”

The concerns raised by the affected indigenous peoples were mostly about the violations of the consultation process. Under Republic Act No. 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997 (IPRA), the right of the indigenous cultural communities (ICCs) and indigenous peoples to self-determination is recognized. The law also provides mechanisms for the protection of their ancestral domains and the resources present there. The affected community must be consulted before projects such as CRPIP can move forward and must approve the project with free and prior informed consent. The fact that the CRPIP construction was started ahead of the completion of the consultation process is uncontroverted.

A group of legislators from th as e House of Representatives—known as the Makabayan (nationalistic) bloc—filed a petition before the Supreme Court on 04 April 2019, asking it to stop the loan agreement with China on the CRPIP. One of the issues raised about the project is the choice of CAMCE as the project contractor. CAMCE was alleged to be pre-selected among three contractors of good standing. Another issue raised in the petition was the strict confidentiality clauses in the agreement. The petitioners consider this specific provision as a violation of the “constitutional right of the Filipino people to information on foreign loans obtained or guaranteed by the government and is considered inimical to the national interest”. There is also an express provision in the loan agreement that the Philippines waives sovereign immunity and the usual arbitration rules.