THE construction of the China-funded Kaliwa Dam hangs as the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) has yet to secure the free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) of indigenous groups that will be affected.

Agta-Dumagat leader Marcelino Tena said that only one of six tribes has given its FPIC to the MWSS. During the hearing of the House Committee on Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples, he claimed that the group received some ₱20 million from the agency.