Day 4 of the Dumagat-Remontados “alay lakad” to Malacañang reaches Famy, Laguna today February 18, 2023.

The protest march, which started at General Nakar, Quezon on Wednesday and is set for a 9-day journey to Manila, is the indigenous people’s call for a stop to the construction of Kaliwa Dam. A project which they believe will cost significant environmental damage to the Sierra Madre mountains, pose hazardous threat to residents, displace IP communities and affect their livelihood.

Funded by Philippine government budget and a loan agreement with China, Kaliwa Dam project aims to supply Metro Manila, Rizal and Quezon province with 600 million liters of water per day.

However, protesters argue the project proponents are circumventing government regulations in securing a permit for the construction.

The marchers were joined by members of Tanglaw Laguna, a coalition of Lagunenses committed to environmental protection and Mamamayang Nagmamahal sa Pakil – an organization of Pakilenyos struggling against a similar issue in their own town.