Draft:Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project

The primary targets for Stage I were rehabilitation and improvement of existing irrigation systems and construction of new irrigation and drainage facilities.{{cite web |title=The Study on Jalaur Irrigation Systems and Rural Area Development Project in the Republic of the Philippines: Volume II Annexes |url=https://openjicareport.jica.go.jp/pdf/11435021_01.pdf |access-date=11 May 2025|page=A-1}} Stage I was completed in 1982 or 1983.{{cite web |last1=PICAO |title=Gov. Defensor: JRMP II, A Foundation For A Brighter Future |url=https://www.iloilo.gov.ph/en/infrastructure-news/gov-defensor-jrmp-ii-foundation-brighter-future |website=Province of Iloilo |access-date=11 May 2025}}{{cite web |title=Drilon Credits PNOY, PBBM for Jalaur Completion |url=https://iloiloupdates.home.blog/2024/07/15/jalaur-completion/ |website=Iloilo Updates |date=14 July 2024 |access-date=11 May 2025}}

Stage I involved:

• Preparatory work — including the examination of existing data and a plan preparation for smooth, efficient execution of the Phase I study;
• Field work - including a site visit and acceptance of an inception report; and
• Office work — including review and analysis, a study for a project development plan, and project cost estimates.{{cite web |title=The Study on Jalaur Irrigation Systems and Rural Area Development Project in the Republic of the Philippines: Volume II Annexes |url=https://openjicareport.jica.go.jp/pdf/11435021_01.pdf |access-date=11 May 2025|pages=A-1–A-2}}

The cost of Stage I was {{Philippine peso|202.2 million}}, with financial assistance from the World Bank.{{cite web |title=The Study on Jalaur Irrigation Systems and Rural Area Development Project in the Republic of the Philippines: Volume II Annexes |url=https://openjicareport.jica.go.jp/pdf/11435021_01.pdf |access-date=11 May 2025|page=A-3}}

In 1970 the Benigno Aquino administration set its sights on Stage II of the JRMP. It got underway in 2011 with a loan of {{Usd|207 million}} from the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM).{{cite web |last1=Lena |first1=Perla |title=P19-B Jalaur dam to boost food security, address inflation |url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1228994 |website=Phillippine News Agency |access-date=11 May 2025}} Much of the Stage II funding has come from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) of South Korea, which is overseen by the KEXIM,{{cite web |title=About |url=https://www.devex.com/organizations/economic-development-cooperation-fund-edcf-46874 |website=devex |access-date=9 May 2025}} in a form known as a "tied loan."{{cite web |last1=jrmpiiadmin |title=NIA-DAEWO INK JRMP II CONTRACT |url=https://jrmp.nia.gov.ph/?q=content/nia-daewo-ink-jrmp-ii-contract |access-date=9 May 2025}}

The objective of Stage II is to provide much-needed water infrastructure for the Province of Iloilo to boost national self-sufficiency in rice, as well as to generate electricity and provide potable water.{{cite web |last1=jrmpiiadmin |title=JRMP II is Iloilo's priority |url=https://jrmp.nia.gov.ph/?q=content/jrmp-ii-iloilo%E2%80%99s-priority-0 |access-date=9 May 2025}}{{cite web |title=Press Release: Drilon: Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project II to create 17,000 jobs in Iloilo |url=https://web.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2012/0104_drilon1.asp |website=Senate of the Philippines |access-date=11 May 2025}}{{cite web |title=Higher rice yield, food security seen when Jalaur dam project is completed |url=https://www.panaynews.net/higher-rice-yield-food-security-seen-when-jalaur-dam-project-is-completed/ |website=Panay News |date=18 February 2025 |access-date=11 May 2025}} Components of Stage II include year-round irrigation facilities and dams, specifically:

• a 38.5-m afterbay dam,
• a 109-m high dam,
• a 10-m river catch dam, and
• 214 km of irrigation canals for 17 municipalities.{{cite web |last1=Solinap |first1=Leo |title=Drilon credits past, present admins for Jalaur Dam completion |url=https://www.sunstar.com.ph/iloilo/drilon-credits-past-present-admins-for-jalaur-dam-completion |website=SunStar Publishing Inc. |date=16 July 2024 |access-date=9 May 2025}}

A memorandum of understanding toward building the dam was signed on December 20, 2011, by the Philippine Department of Agriculture and the KEXIM. The 109-m high dam, sometimes referred to as a mega dam, is expected to boost rice production more than 300 metric tons per year, providing year-round irrigation for some 25,000 farming families. The dam should also provide some 86,000 cubic meters of water to Iloilo City residents every day, along with 6.8 megawatts of electricity. Water accumulation ("impounding") began in July 2024 and reached the volume to operate in July.{{cite web |last1=Castor |first1=Rjay Zuriaga |title=Marcos says Jalaur Dam a 'benchmark project' |url=https://dailyguardian.com.ph/marcos-says-jalaur-dam-a-benchmark-project/ |website=DailyGuardian |date=16 July 2024 |access-date=11 May 2025}}. Construction on canals is expected to be complete by the end of 2025.{{cite web |last1=RAFIS DA6 |title=PBBM inaugurates Jalaur River dams |url=https://westernvisayas.da.gov.ph/pbbm-inaugurates-jalaur-river-dams/ |website=Department of Agriculture |access-date=11 May 2025}}

The project has been criticized for several reasons, including the displacement of indigenous communities of the Tumandok, a lack of involvement by those communities, and environmental risks.{{cite web |title=Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project (JRMPP) Phase II Dam, Iloilo, Philippines |url=https://ejatlas.org/conflict/jalaur-river-mega-dam-project-philippines |website=Global Atlas of Environmental Justice |access-date=11 May 2025}}{{cite web |last1=ipmsdl_admin |title=Land, Water, Life: Resist the Flood of Injustice, Stop the Jalaur Mega Dam |url=https://www.ipmsdl.org/campaign/land-water-life-resist-the-flood-of-injustice-stop-the-jalaur-mega-dam/ |website=Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination & Liberation |access-date=11 May 2025}} In December 2020, the Philippine authorities executed a raid, killing nine Tumandok leaders and arresting many others. The KEXIM stated that the name "Tumandok" can refer both to the Tumandok people and to a political organization, and that the majority of the indigenous people support the project.{{cite web |last1=ipmsdl_admin |title=Land, Water, Life: Resist the Flood of Injustice, Stop the Jalaur Mega Dam |url=https://www.ipmsdl.org/campaign/land-water-life-resist-the-flood-of-injustice-stop-the-jalaur-mega-dam/ |website=Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination & Liberation |access-date=11 May 2025}}{{cite web |title=(Letter to Ana Zbona and Christen Dobson) |url=https://media.business-humanrights.org/media/documents/210222_Response_to_BHRRC.pdf |access-date=11 May 2025}}

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{{Draft categories|

:Category:Infrastructure in the Philippines:Category:Panay}}