"Making Monkey Business:" Building Company/Community Dialogue in the Philippines

Estimated read time: 1:20

Summary

This video from Harvard University narrates the complex history and ongoing struggle of communities affected by dam constructions in the Philippines, specifically focusing on issues with the National Power Corporation's projects in the Ukl and Binga regions. The video highlights the government's initial monetary compensation attempts and subsequent lack of support in relocation efforts, leading to long-term grievances and displacement for the local indigenous peoples. The shift to community engagement and dialogue, facilitated by new stakeholders and negotiation training, showcases a path towards healing and cooperation, but emphasizes that true reconciliation and sustainable development require continuous effort and commitment.

Highlights

In the 1950s, dam projects affected the Ukl and Binga regions, displacing communities without sufficient support. 🌊
Families faced broken promises regarding resettlement, receiving no financial aid in many cases. 📉
Indigenous lands, crucial for cultural heritage and livelihood, were submerged, leading to loss and anger. 🏞️
Repeated unfulfilled promises eroded trust, necessitating dialogue-oriented solutions. 🙌
Negotiation training programs helped bridge divides between corporate and community stakeholders. 👥

Key Takeaways

Monetary compensation isn't always sufficient when communities are displaced by large projects. 💸
The importance of cultural and emotional connections to land for indigenous peoples. 🌾
Successful community-company dialogues require genuine engagement and dialogue. 💬
Social responsibility is not just a corporate buzzword—it needs real action on the ground. 🌍
Agreements are just the beginning; they require ongoing commitment and effort. 📜

Overview

The saga of dam constructions in the Philippines encapsulates the struggles between development and preserving indigenous rights and cultures. Driven initially by optimistic energy goals, the lack of comprehensive planning left numerous communities in disarray. Families hoped for adequate compensation and relocation, yet often these expectations went unmet, resulting in ongoing disputes and disenfranchisement.

Efforts to mediate these conflicts extended over decades, involving court cases and protests from affected families. The shared recognition of cultural landmarks and the role of elders in asserting community values became pivotal in negotiations. These stories illustrate the critical loss families felt over the desecrated landscapes that held both historical and emotional value.

Through educational programs and renewed communication efforts, corporations and community leaders worked towards healing and reconstruction. The prolonged dialogue pointed out the limitations of simple contractual agreements, advocating instead for continuous interaction and sincerity. This narrative serves as a lesson in how social responsibility and community cooperation can pave the way for meaningful resolution and mutual growth.

Chapters

00:00 - 05:00: Introduction and Historical Background The chapter titled 'Introduction and Historical Background' provides an overview of the foundational concepts and historical context necessary for understanding the subject matter. The chapter begins with an introductory section that sets the stage for the topics to be discussed. It then delves into the historical context, examining key events, figures, and developments that have shaped the current state of the subject. The chapter aims to equip the reader with a solid background, integrating music and other multimedia elements to enhance the narrative.
05:00 - 10:00: The Impact on the Indigenous Communities The chapter discusses the early plans for a dam development in the 1950s, with the focus on the best sites being in the Ukl and Binga area.
10:00 - 15:00: Challenges and Unfulfilled Promises The chapter titled 'Challenges and Unfulfilled Promises' discusses the impacts of a governmental project on local communities. It highlights the initial step of expropriation proceedings by the government to compensate families affected by the creation of the project. Although monetary compensation was provided, it is recognized that such financial reparation alone might not be sufficient to address the broader implications and promises unfulfilled through such initiatives.
15:00 - 20:00: Cultural and Psychological Effects Cultural and Psychological Effects explores the intricate relationship between cultures and individual psychology, delving into how cultural norms shape psychological processes and vice versa. The chapter discusses various theories and research findings on the subject.
20:00 - 25:00: Community Dialogue and Negotiation Efforts In this chapter, the focus is on the role of community dialogue and negotiation in fostering better relationships and resolving conflicts. Various techniques and examples of successful community dialogues are explored. The chapter emphasizes the importance of listening, empathy, and understanding differing perspectives in achieving sustainable solutions. Additionally, it highlights the challenges faced during negotiation efforts and offers strategies to overcome them, encouraging a more collaborative and inclusive approach to community issues.
25:00 - 30:00: Lessons Learned and Future Vision The chapter titled 'Lessons Learned and Future Vision' begins with the speaker reflecting on his first teaching experience in 1953 within the community of UTL, described as a land dominated by rice fields. The speaker highlights the importance of lessons learned over time and their vision for the future, reflecting on the transformation the community has undergone since those days.
30:00 - 35:00: Reflection and Closing Thoughts The chapter discusses a community known for its rice production, located in an area referred to as the rice granary due to its expansive rice fields.
35:00 - 40:00: Outro Music The chapter discusses potential plans for planting rice, mentioning past ownership and current considerations. There is a warning about not fighting the government, described as having semic control over national power.

"Making Monkey Business:" Building Company/Community Dialogue in the Philippines Transcription

00:00 - 00:30 [Music] m
00:30 - 01:00 [Music] now in the ' 50s when plans for the dam were being thought of uh the best sites were in the ukl and Binga area in b
01:00 - 01:30 and um at the time there were uh communities that were affected by the creation of the D so um rightly the government started expropriation proceedings and proceeded to pay off the the families involved uh he later realized that you know monetary compensation in projects like this isn't you know just enough [Music]
01:30 - 02:00 for
02:00 - 02:30 in
02:30 - 03:00 1953 my first teaching was in this community of utl it was a very F land all Rice Field it can support
03:00 - 03:30 the whole Community within the area this community is surrounded with wide rice lands that is why it is called the rice Granary of the good that Fields is where our income or livelihood derives then but because of the dam uh our native rice what we call kintan Rice the red one rice it disappear because we
03:30 - 04:00 where will we plant those rice that we own before they warn the people not to fight against the government because this National power is a semic controlled
04:00 - 04:30 government corporation Apparently one of the one of the commitments was uh that families who were displaced would be given land elsewhere uh these families were were told that they would be given land in Isabella but they find themselves all the way in Palawan no support financial support for them to be resettled
04:30 - 05:00 I think some issues is that they were just told to go there resettled at their own no no financial assistance almost everybody resettled themsel just above the dam like us we resettled there that area without uh fin help from the company
05:00 - 05:30 they told us that we will will we will be given uh School roads electricity and so many promises UH 60 years hence the immediate communities are actually still without power after building a hydroelectric power plant uh in the area they're still without power or their power is not reliable when the my parents were able to negotiate with
05:30 - 06:00 those uh people who are being assigned to drive those people out there uh they try to negotiate that all the materials that is materials of that house should also be taken taken so that they have something to put again on the other side but alas they did not uh Grant or they just drive them away and then they push their house the bul do that so that
06:00 - 06:30 is one that they cannot really uh they cannot really forget that is the saddest part of their life the indigenous people's thinking was This Land Is Ours it's ours and the reason why we are poor and indent is because you took it away from us so the demand was give us back the land uh they they consider some of the lands
06:30 - 07:00 there as very sacred this where they Buri their dead the land that we negotiated was already our own land it's an area owned by the the country and it should be managed properly for National development the ethnic group there is are the ealo the they are the ialo the uh one of the uh majority ethnic groups in Bat no you
07:00 - 07:30 also have the cankan the kalanguya but the ebalo they are very um uh they hold sacred the the their ancestors and they they believe that there is uh that honoring the dead honoring your ancestor actually uh guides you towards a better uh Future No if you don't honor them then you don't succeed in life you don't also uh you don't go forward or move forward in your life all the great yards
07:30 - 08:00 where with transfer that's the they go the goost with the families that are settled the graveyard also were transferred all the graves were already transferred they are there uh under our house do you know that part of the just compensation was actually compensation for having to to
08:00 - 08:30 dig up the the the Dead one of the old man here that Solano is all used to go there and complain but they don't hear him and that makes our anger grow and grow because they don't they don't answer what we need so where will we where will we get our own food if all
08:30 - 09:00 the mountains belong to them we lost our Farms we lost our rice fields if you are me if you are in my shoes I think until now you will also be crying because we do not have any means of livelihood now uh the families living there uh their cultural andtradition were destroyed people there live through subsistence farming and all of a sudden it's gone this is the area where the okl
09:00 - 09:30 village was this was covered this was Dum in uh the Water rice at on in 1955 the rice fields is submerged under the ground under water or the whole Community was covered with water yes covered with water if you see the picture which was now suburb
09:30 - 10:00 there's a deep sense of blaming in these people that they are in this position because of the government which is embodied by the National Power Corporation so therefore their anger was really directed at the National Power Corporation it hurts it hurts in the sense that the families
10:00 - 10:30 were separated after the construction of this Dam before I am holding a big anger because of what happen we are not being heard they blame NPC for for the disruption of their lives they stopped talking to one another and then eventually it got to a point where they were afraid of one another so they said the only way way we could deal with
10:30 - 11:00 these people was to go to court that was the only place where they felt they were safe if it's a government entity operating that we could not really make much the municipality the province of bat they could not really make a match from whatever taxes du them but if it's a private company then we welcome it very much I read the newspaper that they are going to bid out these two damps and
11:00 - 11:30 I was really happy about it our vision for the company is actually to to be the the leading renewable energy provider in the Philippines and um we can we we'll be doing this through excellence in our processes Innovation and um and developing the communities where we operate so it's it's inherent in our in our values that uh um CSR is embedded in our process you have to be there you have to communicate sit down with them and and and and really have uh and they have to feel that you're sincere and and AR sin here um as I said um there
11:30 - 12:00 there's no other way to do it we we cannot deny that we did not actually give full support immediately we made to sit with them we we came up with the interaction we exchange information so we put into our mind that let's see what will happen uh they came and then they explained to the people uh what would be what would be their
12:00 - 12:30 uh project what are they going to do uh what are they going to do with existing dams so they consulted with the people so is uh of course in a consultation there would be reactions and there will be some positive and negative reactions uh the the people uh were aware of this uh promises because they know that the promises can be bro can be broken the emotion that and the wisdom that he
12:30 - 13:00 imparted during a general assembly of the community was so much that people were really nodding their head you know i' I've been here for the last 60 years I've heard all the promises I've heard all the failed uh failed promises the those things that you've your your sweet tongues he lumped us uh with all those other companies your sweet tongues uh uh told us uh promising the heaven promising everything only for you only
13:00 - 13:30 to construct the dam and after you have constructed the dam you left us and you did nothing uh to improve our lot I told him I told him maybe you you are just uh making a monkey business on us I I to I have said that word to them please do not do not emulate do not follow what the NPC had been doing to us in the first time in the in the in the construction of the d uh we have interviewed people who said that every every time they walk that bridge between
13:30 - 14:00 uh in the dam they would look at the land and tears would readily flow in their eyes and said if we had this land we would have been better off and our children would be better off the name itself uh social responsibility sounds like a requirement but um we believe it's it's uh um it gives a social license to to to operate in the in um in in the areas where we are legal license is something on paper
14:00 - 14:30 right but social license is um is acceptability from the people from the um Lo government officials from the NOS from from everyone to me it's being welcomed by by by the people and then when when you meet people they are um they they feel good that they've met people from from our organization the this group got financing for this uh purchase from the World Bank but in the process say the claimants wrote telling
14:30 - 15:00 them don't lend money to the aoes to purchase that power plant because of this this this this this this hasn't been addressed
15:00 - 15:30 as part of the world bank's due diligence it had to address all the all the issues that were um that aoes the aoes group was being confronted ever since uh Annabelle came in I had already told her there's been enough litigation already this has been litigated 50 years ago when we came in uh people were dealing with each other
15:30 - 16:00 as enemies as adversaries and plus there was some animosities uh emotional uh animosities so our role was basically to diffuse this and to put them in a frame of mind where they will talk and they will Express themselves from the heart we asked them who do you think should be on the table so we didn't tell them who should be on the table we ask them and
16:00 - 16:30 so they um uh named 10 groups this included the um National Power Corporation the uh private sector assets and liabilities management group of course SN aboites two municipal governments two bangi governments two indigenous people's organizations and the office of the governor first of all we we want to level the skills of negotiations
16:30 - 17:00 secondly uh in the process of capacity building we wanted them to we want to put a face to each of the stakeholders that it's not just a group of people that they're talking to now there are particular physical people in there and they are getting to know them and they're going to know them personally they're going to call them by their
17:00 - 17:30 first names we thought that we needed to um capacitate them with skills in collaborative negotiations so this was how we put together this program we had one rule that says nobody gets to be wrong which means I will listen and I will not debate and we will not accept uh we will not tolerate any debates because we we uh they acknowledge that everybody's opinion is valid
17:30 - 18:00 and has some value one of the other rules is empty your cup which means uh well uh forget all your prejudices just listen empty your cup uh listen to what is being said try to understand it and later on you can make a choice whether to accept it or not in our first day of
18:00 - 18:30 training they asked us to go to the other side and uh in going to that other side you must you must find your way to go there but the rule was you cannot copy a mechanism that has been done before all right so everybody has to invo invent his own way of getting across the room I think I was the first
18:30 - 19:00 one and I did a dance to go to that location the rule was if it has been done before people at the the ones who have crossed can turn you down and you have to go back and then the next one is the mayor and he did a dance as well so he did it in an indigenous way that is our uh indigenous way of solving
19:00 - 19:30 problem so I have to decide whether that's okay or not so I I turn it down one of the indigenous people said uh that they were hurt that this was turned down because this is their way of expressing themselves normally so I got angry I got mad I got mad the people were mad at me they were telling that uh I was not so sensitive about their culture and uh I I
19:30 - 20:00 turned down their mayor but then I explained to them that the reason why I I said no is that it's it's also a dance so I was with the impression that since I did the dance and he did the dance so it's not acceptable and the argument was getting heated and I go to the extent of feeling some uh hurting words and then I
20:00 - 20:30 stood up and told my and told what is inside of me and after a couple of uh minutes they begin they began to understand each other's Point I've explained to them and I've um made made amends with them and we're good friends now as if my anger or the wounds that I am
20:30 - 21:00 holding was little by little uh removed or uh cast out by that capacity building there was such a huge change even in the corporate people after the training they came to us and said you know what before these people wouldn't talk to us after the negotiation training they said that was the time the Dynamics totally changed the connection
21:00 - 21:30 started to happen AB came to know that uh this is the traditional people these are the customs and traditions you know we had a rule on being late all right and if if you were late uh you would be sanctioned by dancing in front of the class and so uh a person will be very ashamed to be dancing in front of of uh the the the
21:30 - 22:00 the group and then on the fifth day when we started so we were there at 9:00 sharp and there was no one there all decided to be late so when we came in on the fifth day they all decided to be late and then all of a sudden they all came together they said we all decided to be late because we're all going to dance uh on the last day uh everyone wanted to dance already so everybody wanted to be late and so of course we
22:00 - 22:30 put on the music and they were having so much fun and you know that was this that was really a show of camaraderie among them which also uh showed that there was already a uh you know the beginning of unity that they could already talk and um agree on something that all of them were interested to do we thought that at least now they have accepted each other that they are not only uh acquainted but friends in fact the two people who
22:30 - 23:00 debated on the on the indigenous dance uh became text mates all right I think up to now they're texting each other we learn much how to settle disputes also this an additional skill for us and then during the process um we we were able to build friendship I have now
23:00 - 23:30 the respect for them before uh conflicts were actually treated as such uh and were dealt with in a hostile adversarial Manner and uh the workshop opened up possibilities in sitting down uh understanding the position of the other party in empathizing with the position of each of the stakeholders and really being open and transparent about what each party feels and what each party can
23:30 - 24:00 bring to the table for the solution of the conflict first of all we uh identify the issues that they wanted to talk about what we did was we uh talked to to the different groups uh individually we would split them up and ask their positions on these various issues and then when we see that there are connections that there are
24:00 - 24:30 there is Common Ground then we see this as a possibility for creating certain Provisions uh until um at the very end uh I think we were down to maybe only about two or three issues that were not resolved by the end of the seven months we were able to put everything into one agreement we put everybody together in one room looked at the uh the proposed agreement made uh the changes that were acceptable to everybody gave them all their uh their drafts of the agreement
24:30 - 25:00 and then asked them to bring it to their principles we said what was the meaning of land to you and they said three things one recognition respect for our culture secondly opportunity and the third was security respect means museums bringing back the graves of our uh ancestors documenting our literature our music our dances so that people so
25:00 - 25:30 that our young people will know it will learn it and we will never be forgotten that we are The Originators of this land and then for opportunity they talked about livelihood about um Education and Training uh infrastructure
25:30 - 26:00 talked about security they said they wanted to make sure that they can preserve the water the forest the trees actually it all came from them the people the indigenous people they were the ones who who who presented whatever uh items that would appear in the MAA
26:00 - 26:30 doors were opened people were willing to to talk and listen and every time there is a particular problem people now knew the Forum or the structure they can they know where to go to talk to uh the people that needs to be informed
26:30 - 27:00 we're not operating for the day we're there for the next 50 years and it would be to our best interest to to have good relationships with um with the local community we should also look the other sides for example uh we not just raise our concerns we'll also understand the company what it could be possible but is
27:00 - 27:30 doable someday somehow will'll realize these dreams and U um make our community Progressive more so we establish uh organize that uh colos Festival with the help of ases uh the without
27:30 - 28:00 their sponsorship that colos Festival have not started we supported our cultural dances so we acquired uh cultural instrument so we started training kids to perform uh cultural dances the first will be actually going there and sitting down with the people
28:00 - 28:30 in the community you can't do your social responsibility from The Boardroom you actually have to have people go there and see what what the situation is right the mechanism that we provided um allowed a process where all of them will be talking and by doing this uh they know that they're able to shortcut the the kind of conversations that they have to do the second would be uh not being too pompous as a corporate uh
28:30 - 29:00 personality there comes a time when you cannot do it by yourself the third would be communication it's um always good to talk it's always good to have a dialogue and listen to the sentiments of the people corporations have begun to realize that social responsibility is really uh meant for increased productivity and shareholder
29:00 - 29:30 value we get CSR right makes the my role as CEO much much easier um if we if if if we operate in um in a say quote host hostile environment where we are not accepted or we have issues with um with IPS in the local community if we have issues with the with the government that takes a lot of management time to fix and uh that that affects the morale and uh um um
29:30 - 30:00 demotivates um employees one of the key measures is actually if we have made a difference in the lives of the communities uh of the people within the communities where we operate then we can say that we have made it we we're successful I have now the capacity to accept what was already uh done to us in dienos and also that company they also understand what is the responsibility
30:00 - 30:30 they have now the capacity to build their relationship between us and them there's a continuous uh negotiation continuing continuing consultation I think we have successfully established oursel not as a company but as a neighbor in the community many people think that once you reach an agreement it's a Panacea it's a magic one everything is going going to be transformed the following day and we will live happily ever after
30:30 - 31:00 but a memorandum of agreement or any peace agreement is like a marriage contract you don't sign a marriage contract and expect that you will live happily ever after you need to know that that contract that you sign is something that you will have to negotiate for the rest of your life I think this is what is happening in ukl Binga we had a good agreement but it is not the end of it there will be many many
31:00 - 31:30 agreements that they will have to make throughout the rest of their lives to make the community that they want to [Music] Envision fore
31:30 - 32:00 [Music]
32:00 - 32:30 [Music] see
32:30 - 33:00 [Music] [Music] for is Spirit to s to the SE Lord
33:00 - 33:30 [Applause] [Music] fore School [Music]
33:30 - 34:00 [Music] fore foree
34:00 - 34:30 she use
34:30 - 35:00 a that's the end of my song thank you