Manila Water Supply III project
The Manila Water Supply III project was the first of several bulk water supply projects on the upper portion of the Kaliwa River Watershed have been proposed by the Philippine Government since the 1970s. Often referred to as simply as Laiban dam, although that term is also used to refer to later dam projects in the same location.
The project was first conceived in November 1979 during the Martial Law administration of Ferdinand Marcos and was initially funded by loans from the World Bank. However, the project encountered delays due to the collapse of the Philippine Economy under President Marcos in the early 1980s, and was beset by protests related to the displacement of the indigenous Remontado Agta people, who live in the area which would have been flooded by the dam.
By 1989, the succeeding administration of Corazon Aquino reviewed the project and determined that costs had ballooned so high that the project had to be scrapped altogether.
