BUSTOS, Bulacan, Philippines – A resolution has been drafted and subsequently approved here by rice farmers within the Angat-Bustos-Pandi (Anbuspa) area, requesting President Rodrigo Duterte to immediately begin construction of the Kaliwa Dam here.

The farmers’ action was in response to a request that Presidential Adviser on Peace Process Secretary Carlito Galvez made along with the initiative of the Central Luzon’s Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) supporting the construction of the Kaliwa Dam project.

Sec. Galvez explained that construction of the Kaliwa Dam will first and foremost provide the province ample water supply to farmers’ irrigation needs that Angat Dam can no longer provide.

For his part, the new chair of Ambuspa in Severino Santos, claimed that he responded positively because he said that for a long time to date, 97% of Metro Manila’s water demand comes from Angat Dam, which during summer or dry season oftentimes get depleted.

But if the Kaliwa Dam were to be built, Santos said there would be enough water for Metro Manila as residents would get an additional 600 million liters of water a day.

This means that 600 million liters of water per day are at present left unutilized with which Angat Dam cannot also provide.

The project is worth P12.2 billion of which P10.2 billion will be funded by the Official Development Assistance (ODA) from China while P2 billion will come from the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS). (Cate Pallarco/IAMIGO/CNS)