The Indigenous Group Dumagat-Remontado (IGDR) barricaded Tinipak River in Tanay, Rizal following reports of 'Yes' to Kaliwa Dam Project’s plan to conduct a 'ritual' that contradicts the IP Dumagat-Remontado’s culture.
"Ang pinaplanong ritwal ng mga Yes sa Dam ay malinaw na labag sa kulturang kinagisnan ng mga Dumagat-Remontado dahil isang beses lang isinasagawa ang ritwal sa isang taon. Tahasan rin itong pangungutya, panlilibak at kawalang ng respeto sa mga pamayanang direktang palulubugin at hindi pinagpasyahan ng mga matatanda," Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA) said in a Facebook post.
The IDGR had collected more than 200,000 online signatures to stop the project campaign.
The group are opposed to displacing 5,000 Dumagat-Remontados from their ancestral domain and desecrating their sacred sites.
According to the IPs, no information reached them regarding the project which violates Republic Act No . 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997.
This project would also destroy the biodiversity of Sierra Madre and would submerge 291 hectares of forest, thus endangering around 100,000 residents, they added.
The controversial Kaliwa Dam aimed to augment supply water in Metro Manila and municipalities of Tanay, Antipolo, Teresa (Rizal), General Nakar and Infanta (Quezon).