MANILA - Regardless of how it is proposed to be undertaken, the government should "conclusively and finally" abandon the $1-billion Laiban dam project, advocacy group Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) said.

In a position paper sent to the media, the FDC said the controversial project of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) is "borne out of a dangerous and flawed decision-making process," adding that it will not be beneficial to the public and to the Philippine government.

"(The Laiban dam project) will result in large and direct injury to the local communities within and around the project area, rate increases that are disproportionate to the perceived gains that general consumers will receive the project, the siphoning of budgetary allocations that are more gravely needed by other water sector concerns, and with the government guaranteeing the risks, it will further aggravate the government's debt stock and indebtedness and its precarious fiscal position," FDC said.

According to the FDC, the government has "continuously attempted to force the project's implementation via all avenues possible."

"Their obsession with the Laiban dam project brought forth a controversial memorandum of understanding with American firm CalEnergy in 2008, which was heavily criticized for the absence of any public bidding. In only a year's time, we now have another controversial deal in the making, this time with the San Miguel Consortium," FDC said.

Last September, diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) submitted an unsolicited proposal to build and operate the Laiban dam through unit San Miguel Bulk Water Co. Inc. SMC said the project could supply about 1,900 million liters of water per day (MLD) or 22 cubic meters per second, addressing the need to address a looming water shortage in Metro Manila.

The FDC, however, said that there is more than enough water to supply the actual water needs of Metro Manila's population.

"With a current population of 12 million people, our basic water needs require only about 600 MLD or 600,000 cubic meters per day The WHO prescribes a basic water volume of 20L or 0.02 cu.m per capita per day to meet water and sanitation needs, but other groups subscribe to a minimum of 50L per capita per day.. Even if our population grows by 50% come 2015, we would only require 900 MLD to meet the basic water requirements of an 18M population. This is still well within the existing supply of 4090 MLD," FDC explained.

By agreeing to purchase bulk water from a private contractor such as SMC, the FDC said MWSS will be committing its consumers to pay unprecedented costs for a natural resource such as water.

But even without a joint agreement with SMC or any private sector company, the group said MWSS consumers will still find themselves burdened by project costs.

"The project has already been estimated at $1 billion, making it the most expensive water supply project of the MWSS to date. Huge cost overruns which are typical of a large dam project such as this further jack up the project cost, possibly to as much as double the estimated cost. In the end, every large centavo spent for the project would be recovered from MWSS consumers," FDC said.