Controversial DPWH projects in Antique lack IP consent

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

A multi-sectoral coalition in Antique has renewed its criticism of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects in the province, claiming they were developed without the consent of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) living in the affected areas.

In a statement, the Amlig Antique Alliance denounced the Laua-an municipal government, DPWH, and contractor Sunwest Construction Corporation over 14 road projects worth PHP 1.27 billion located within the ancestral domain of the Iraynon-Bukidnon cultural communities.

The group alleged that these projects were implemented without securing Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) from the IPs or a Certification Precondition from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).

Under Republic Act No. 8371, or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act, FPIC is required from IP communities before any entity may access or use their land, and it is a prerequisite for the NCIP to issue a Certification Precondition.

“This revelation confirms that the ongoing scandal over DPWH corruption and ecological destruction in Antique is more severe than previously known,” the alliance said.

“Beyond environmental offenses and procurement anomalies lies a deeper crime: the violation of the fundamental rights of the Iraynon-Bukidnon, whose consent was ignored and whose ancestral lands have been desecrated,” they added.

The group described the projects as a betrayal not only of land but of cultural identity, invoking the symbolic Busalian—protector of balance and guardian spirit of the Tumandok people.

“To destroy the land the Busalian once walked and defended is to silence the heartbeat of Antique itself, stripping away its memory, dignity, and the soul of a people,” the group said.

Amlig urged the NCIP to issue a cease-and-desist order against the project activities, and called on the DPWH and Department of Environment and Natural Resources to suspend all work and conduct a social impact audit.

They also pressed the Commission on Human Rights and the Office of the Ombudsman to initiate independent investigations into the projects.

The coalition further urged the Antique provincial government to dispatch the Provincial Project Monitoring Committee for a field investigation and demand that DPWH halt all related construction.

This is not the first time the alliance has flagged DPWH projects handled by Sunwest in Antique.

In August, Amlig sought to suspend work on the PHP 2.6-billion Panay East-West Lateral Road, which cuts through the Central Panay Mountain Ranges and involves five contracts awarded to Sunwest.

On September 29, Laua-an Mayor Aser Baladjay said in an interview with DYKA Radyo Totoo that there were no ghost projects in the town and asserted that the required FPICs were obtained.

“I could vouch that in our area, there are no ghost projects,” Baladjay said.

“There is [FPIC] from the IPs, there’s a pre-construction meeting, and we look at the engineering design of these projects,” he added.