Catholic social action centers in Southern Tagalog urged the government to scrap dam projects in Laguna province, saying the developments threaten communities, the environment and cultural heritage sites.
The Southern Tagalog Secretariat for Social Action, or STASSA, said development should not come at the expense of people, ecosystems and local heritage.
“We respectfully but firmly call on our government leaders and the proponents of these projects to completely stop and terminate the dam projects,” the group said in a statement in Filipino.
STASSA welcomed a cease-and-desist order issued by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, or NHCP, but said the suspension should not be considered a permanent solution.
The NHCP ordered work halted after reports of activities within an area of historical, cultural and spiritual significance in Pakil, including the vicinity of St. Peter of Alcantara Parish Church, an NHCP-marked historical structure, and Turumba Spring.
The church-based network expressed solidarity with residents of Pakil, who have long opposed the Ahunan Dam project, a proposed $5.03 billion pumped-storage hydropower facility expected to generate 1,400 megawatts of electricity for the Luzon grid.
The project, one of the largest planned pumped-storage hydropower facilities in Asia, would use Laguna de Bay as a lower reservoir and an artificial basin in the mountains of Pakil as an upper reservoir.
Church groups, environmental advocates and local residents have argued that the project could worsen flooding, increase vulnerability to typhoons and threaten biodiversity-rich areas in the municipality.
Opponents have also raised concerns over alleged tree-cutting activities in Pakil’s mountains, saying the clearing has damaged parts of the area and intensified fears about the project’s environmental impact.
“As social action workers of the Church, we stand with the people of Pakil and all those defending creation and human dignity,” STASSA said.