How does the Philippines government organize development projects, and what is their impact on native peoples?
One program of the government is called “integrated area development.” This has been in place since the early 1970s, and is funded by the World Bank. The government makes a survey of the area, identifies the resources, and identifies potential multinational corporations or investments that can be utilized. The classic example of hydroelectric projects and the government disregard for the people who have been displaced is the Binga Ambuclao dam. These two dams were built in the late forties and early fifties, and are part of the Amu River development project, a six dam project. Nearly 300 families from Ambuclao were displaced, and they were promised a location in Visaya, and promised a renumeration of ten centavos per square meter of agricultural land and 50 centavos per square meter of residential land. But up to the present there have been no payments to the Ibollois. The people dislocated were never given renumeration because the government declared they were squatters on public land
