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NABAOY WATERSHED IS UNDER THREAT.

We are calling on YOU to stand with us and sign this petition against San Miguel Corporation's proposed massive hydroelectric dam in Northwest Panay Peninsula Natural Park (NPPNP), which threatens the main water source of Boracay Island and Malay – a life source for over 60,000 residents and up to 2 million tourists annually.

San Miguel Corporation plans to build a 300MW Pumped-Storage Hydro Power Plant Project in the Nabaoy watershed, which is the main source of freshwater for Boracay Island and the surrounding communities. The proposed location of the two hydroelectric dams falls partially within declared protected areas. 

Constructing the project involves tunneling, blasting, and destructive excavation into the mountains and rivers – thereby threatening the fragile natural rock formations that store the rainwater supply, as well as disturbing the endemic and endangered flora and fauna in the rainforests. Moreover, it will displace indigenous people’s communities (Ati) and disrupt their lives and traditional practices on ancestral lands. 

Nabaoy River boasts one of the best water qualities in the region, making it critical to protect this watershed at all costs. Any reduction in water availability and quality could compromise public health, sanitation, and economic viability. Offsetting costs may result in increased water utility bills for the entire community. 

An ongoing hydrological study led by PNRI Senior Chemist-Scientist and Research Leader, Dr. Raymund J. Sucgang, claims that:
Damage to the Nabaoy watershed’s fragile and generous ecosystem can be IRREVERSIBLE.

If San Miguel Corporation’s proposed dam project pushes through, we risk the loss of Boracay Island and Malay's primary clean drinking water source – maybe forever. Here are the main concerns at a glance:

• Potential collapse of the fragile watershed's storage system
• Loss of Boracay and Malay’s main water source
• Risking the biodiversity in the protected area (NPPNP)
• Threat to the Ati's traditional use areas to gather their daily needs.

San Miguel Corporation is aggressively on the move – AGAIN.

• 2021. SMC first proposed a 300MW Aklan Pumped-Storage Hydro Power Plant Project that would be developed and operated by Strategic Power Development Corp. (SPDC). SPDC is a wholly owned subsidiary of SMC Global Power Holdings Corporation. The local community successfully blocked this.
• 2025. SMC is back and is proposing the same hydroelectric plant project, once again. This time, they held a public consultation at Nabaoy Barangay Plaza on July 26, 2025. The Nabaoy community collectively shouted, “NO TO DAM!”.
• Despite the community’s opposition, San Miguel Corporation disregards this, and is still pushing for the project, labeling it as “of National Significance”. They persist and seek approval from relevant government agencies (as of petition publishing date).
  This is why we need you to STAND WITH US!

Sign and share this petition against the proposed 300MW hydroelectric dam by San Miguel Corporation, which threatens  the main water source of Boracay Island and Malay in the Northwest Panay Peninsula Natural Park (NPPNP). 

We, the people of Boracay Island and Malay, understand that renewable energy is the future, but NOT at the cost of risking our only water source and damaging our natural environmental resources.

“The geological structure of Nabaoy watershed is very fragile... It stores rainwater between the cracks rather than a large underground basin, as commonly found in watersheds. To tamper with this system is to risk losing what sustains Boracay and all of Malay.”

Dr. Raymond J. Sucgang, Senior Chemist-Scientist & Research Leader at PNRI

*A watershed is a land area that funnels all rainwater into a common outlet – like a river and the ocean.

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