"Each year, members of the Dumagat-Remontado tribe gather at the Tinipak River to observe an Indigenous ritual to honor their supreme being and pray for healing and protection.

This year, the rite had an additional intention: to ward off an impending dam project they fear will inundate the site of the ritual.

The Kaliwa Dam, part of a program aimed at securing a clean water supply for the Manila metropolitan region, is already under construction and scheduled to go online in 2027.

The project has faced resistance from civil society groups as well as many of the Dumagat-Remontado, who say they fear it will cause both environmental and cultural damage."

Keith Anthony S. Fabro reports for Mongabay May 9, 2023. [2]