[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” equal_height=”yes” cspt-responsive-css=”13014940|colbreak_no|||||||||colbreak_yes|||||||||colbreak_no||||||||||colbreak_no|||||||||” el_class=”header-title” css=”.vc_custom_1615584142705{margin-bottom: 40px !important;}”][vc_column cspt-extended-column=”left” width=”1\/2″ cspt-responsive-css=”69549645|colbreak_no|||||||||colbreak_no|||||150||150||colbreak_no||||||||||colbreak_no|||||||||” css=”.vc_custom_1615583979260{padding-top: 300px !important;padding-right: 50px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;background-color: #5c86c0 !important;}”][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”11406″ img_size=”full” css=”.vc_custom_1618860162343{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3\/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Chico River Pump Irrigation Project (CRPIP)” font_container=”tag:h1|font_size:40px|text_align:left|color:%23ffffff|line_height:45px” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1618860344764{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][vc_column cspt-bg-image-color-order=”image-over-color” cspt-extended-column=”right” width=”1\/2″ cspt-responsive-css=”91835201|colbreak_no|||||||||colbreak_no||||||||15|colbreak_no||||||||||colbreak_no|||||||||” css=”.vc_custom_1620255956192{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-top: 40px !important;padding-right: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 40px !important;padding-left: 30px !important;background-image: url(http:\/\/103.18.247.248\/~sample\/bri_monitor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/CRPIP.png?id=12124) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_tta_tabs spacing=”20″ active_section=”1″ el_class=”bri-tabbing”][vc_tta_section title=”I. Project Summary” tab_id=”1614655868545-c561da9a-c081″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
The Chico River Pump Irrigation Project (CRPIP) is the first flagship project under the \u201cBuild, Build, Build\u201d (BBB) program of the Duterte administration.The CRPIP was conceptualized to provide ample and stable water supply to 8,700 hectares of agricultural land, through the construction of new diversion and canal systems. It is targeted to increase agricultural productivity and benefit 4,300 farmers in 21 barangays from the municipalities of Tuao and Piat in the province of Cagayan and Pinukpuk in the province of Kalinga. The project is worth P4.372 billion (or about USD87 million).<\/p>\n
The CRPIP has been controversial since the idea\u2019s inception in the 1970s as it provoked a strong response from the local Kalinga and Bontoc tribes. In 1974, it was estimated that even if only one of the four planned dams were erected on the Chico River, over 1,000 families would have been displaced by flooding. The Ferdinand Marcos government attempted to negotiate with the local communities but was unable to reach a financial settlement. The government attempted to suppress the opposition movement by force, but ultimately shelved the project. The Chico River Dam Project has since been associated with indigenous people’s struggles to protect their ancestral lands and their way of living. In 2016, the Chico River was, once again, catapulted into the national scene with the CRPIP as the first flagship project under the BBB program of the Duterte administration.<\/p>\n
According to official publicly-available sources, the project is worth P4.372 billion (or about USD87 million). According to the DOF (2018), about 85 percent or P3.7 billion was loaned from the state owned China Export-Import Bank as an ODA with an interest of two percent per annum and a maturity period of 20 years, inclusive of a seven-year grace period.<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”II. Project Structure” tab_id=”1614655868558-673461d2-624a”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
*No diagram and actual defined project structure listed in case study<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”III. Issues” tab_id=”1618452537450-6e206883-c36f”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
There is a threat that the project will lead to environmental degradation, including widespread
\nflooding, and consequently contribute to disturbing the rich biodiversity in the area. According to Lavi\u00f1a and Reyes (2019), the CRPIP is \u201cdevelopment 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
A group of legislators from th as e House of Representatives\u2014known as the Makabayan (nationalistic) bloc\u2014filed 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\u201d. There is also an express provision in the loan agreement that the Philippines waives sovereign immunity and the usual arbitration rules.<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”IV. Transparency Assessment” tab_id=”1614655896696-2d7fad11-0659″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n