The SRMP is located on the Agno River nearly 200 km north of Metro Manila and spans the municipalities of San Manuel and San Nicolas, Pangasinan. Its dam impounds a reservoir with a storage capacity of nearly 1 billion cubic meters that extends north into the municipality of Itogon, Benguet . The primary focus of DGSI is to buy, sell, distribute and market at wholesale all kinds of goods, commodities, wares and merchandise made by families in the communities affected by the SRMP — both individually and through cooperatives organized by them. By purchasing DGSI products, customers help assure sustainable livelihood (income) for these families while working at or near their homes. Such purchases support the livelihood programs of the Project's private and public proponents: San Roque Power Corporation and National Power Corporation, respectively. THE AFFECTED FAMILIES The majority of these families elected self-relocation, one of several options offered by NPC. The others selected homes built by NPC in one of several resettlement communities. One hundred eighty-seven families relo-cated to Sitio Camanggaan in Barangay San Roque, San Manuel, Pangasinan. Thirty-nine families relocated to the Sitio Lagpan in Barangay San Felipe East, San Nicolas, Pan-gasinan. Sixty-one families in Itogon, Benguet ini-tially chose to self-relocate, but later changed their minds in favor of resettlement communi-ties provided by NPC. Hence, these villages are not ready for occupancy. Twenty-three families will relocate to Sitio Bantik in Baran-gay Dalupirip and thirty-eight will relocate to Sitio Daynet in Barangay Ampucao in late 2004. In addition, more than 1,600 additional families residing outside the Project site, but who farmed or otherwise generated their live-lihood from lands therein, must likewise estab-lish new means of livelihood. Upon completion of construction in early 2003, the work opportunities associated with it decreased dramatically. At the peak of con-struction, more than 5,000 were employed, about 80 percent of whom resided in an af-fected community. Now, however, about 120 permanent em-ployees are needed to operate and maintain the SRMP, including the site security force. Hence, most of those who were employed dur-ing construction must establish new or rees-tablish previous means of livelihood. These affected persons are willing to un-dertake the development of diverse livelihood projects as alternative ways to supplement ag-ricultural income, such as weaving cloth and making quilts, garments, bags, jewelry and other products. But they need help.
CORPORATE OBJECTIVES The shareholders of DGSI—each of whom was involved in the development of the SRMP in some way—decided to organize, manage, operate and finance a company to serve as a training, purchasing, production, quality control, and marketing vehicle for such livelihood projects. To date, these products include such fash-ion accessories as jewelry and machine-sewn and crocheted bags, utility items such as tote bags and cellular phone cases, hand-quilted pillow cases, shams and blankets, and machine and hand sewn items featuring hand-woven indigenous fabrics. Most of these handicrafts products can be made in the home, but in most cases, the workers prefer to gather together at the SRPC Livelihood Center located near Sitio Camanggaan in San Manuel, Pangasinan. Hence, the activities of DGSI expand and enhance the livelihood opportunities of af-fected peoples and communities, thereby sup-porting the social obligations of NPC under its loan agreement with the Japan Bank for Inter-national Cooperation and of SRPC as a matter of corporate policy and concern. ABOUT THE SRMP Detailed information about the SRMP and the peoples and communities it affects is avail-able at www.sanroque.com.ph. SRPC financed and constructed the SRMP under a power purchase agreement with the NPC on a build-operate-transfer or BOT basis. Construction began in March 1998. SRPC substantially completed the SRMP at midnight, February 14, 2003, at which time its peaking power, irrigation, flood control and enhanced water quality benefits became avail-able to the surrounding regions. In reality, all but its power benefits became effective in mid-2002 when the dam and spillway were completed. The SRMP officially commenced com-mercial service as power generating facility on May 1, 2003. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo inaugurated the Project in ceremonies at the Malacañang Palace on May 29, 2003 together with former President Fidel V. Ramos, whose administration launched the Project. SRPC will own and operate the power generating facilities for 25 years from May 1, 2003, after which ownership transfers to NPC. Ownership of the dam and spillway trans-ferred to NPC upon construction completion. ABOUT THE SHAREHOLDERS The Filipino shareholders (or stockhold-ers) of DGSI are VADM Virgilio Q. Marcelo, AFP (Ret) , Daisy Marcelo Barrameda and Analyn L. Blardony —all residents of San Manuel, Pangasinan. The foreign sharehold-ers of DGSI are Raymond E. and Carol Cunningham , who are US citizens residing in the Philippines. Economic interests in DGSI are held 60 percent by the Filipino shareholders and 40 percent by the American shareholders. Each of the shareholders was involved with the SRMP in either a public or private capacity and has strong ties to the affected peoples and communities. VADM Virgilio Q. Marcelo, AFP (Ret) Admiral Marcelo is President of DGSI and Chairman of its board of directors. He also is Vice President of SRPC and Director—Community and Government Programs, hav-ing held this position for more than 4 years. One of his primary responsibilities is co-ordinating the fulfillment of the social com-mitments set forth in the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP). The RAP was prepared by NPC in consultation with the affected peoples and communities and complies with accepted in-ternational standards. These commitments include fair and just compensation of all families affected by the SRMP, their resettlement to new locations (where necessary) and the restoration of their livelihoods. This is a major challenge involv-ing many other national agencies besides NPC and is supported by the private charitable ef-forts of SRPC. Admiral Marcelo's ancestral home is Barangay Narra, San Manuel, Pangasinan, which was heavily impacted by the construc-tion of the SRMP. A graduate of the Philip-pine Military Academy, Class of 1961, he rose to command the Navy as Vice Admiral. After retirement from the AFP, former President Fidel V. Ramos appointed him a member of the NPC Board of Directors. He subsequently was appointed Undersecretary for Field Operations of the Department of En-vironment and Natural Resources. Overall, he served the Republic of the Philippines for 42 years in various capacities. Daisy Marcelo BarramedaMrs. Barrameda is Vice President of DGSI and a member of its board of directors. She also resides in Barangay Narra, San Manuel, Pangasinan, where she has been very active in community affairs. In May 1998, she was elected a member of the Sangguniang Bayan of San Manuel serving from mid-1998 through mid-2001. Having received the most votes among the councilors, Mrs. Barrameda presided at SB sessions in the absence of the Vice Mayor. As municipal councilor, she served on the SB committees for Environment and for Fam-ily & Women. She also served as a liaison for the peoples and communities affected by the SRMP, particularly the affected peoples of Barangay Narra. Prior to entering public service, she worked in private industry, including initial exposure to the banking industry and 6 years managing a local rice mill. Mrs. Barrameda attended college at Saint Scholastica's College in Manila earning a Bachelors degree Marketing Management in 1993. She has pursued graduate studies at the University of the Philippines leading to a Mas-ters degree in Management since 2002. Her colleagues elected her President of the UP Management Association. Analyn L. Blardony Mrs. Blardony is Corporate Secretary and Treasurer of DGSI and a member of its board of directors. She also functions as its Business Manager. She was born and raised in San Manuel, Pangasinan. She majored in accounting at Saint Louis University in Baguio City after graduating from Saint Mary's Dominican School in San Manuel, earning a Bachelor of Science in Commerce in 1984. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Blardony qualified as a Certified Public Ac-countant by passing the national board exams. She then spent fourteen years working as an accounting clerk, bookkeeper, inventory supervisor, and materials manager for a Ma-nila-based marketing company. This work experience gave her a solid background in general accounting and bookkeeping, payroll and taxes, and management of inventories of raw materials and finished products. In 1999, she returned to her hometown of San Manuel and accepted a position in the equipment accounting and inventory depart-ment of the SRMP contractor, Washington Group International. Raymond E. Cunningham Mr. Cunningham is a member of the DGSI board of directors. He was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, USA, which is an agricultural state that he finds similar in many ways to the Province of Pangasinan. He previously served as Senior Vice President and Project Director of San Roque Power Corporation (SRPC) for nearly 6 years. Throughout this period he was actively sup-ported the livelihood programs of SRPC and NPC, as well as those of DGSI. In addition to his activities with DGSI, he serves as an advisor and source of funding for other demonstration livelihood projects, in-cluding the formation of multipurpose coop-eratives to this end. He is responsible for 21 hydroelectric pro-jects currently operating in the United States—from the initial planning phase through commissioning. He served as a con-sultant for more than 75 additional hydroelec-tric projects. He also has experience with fos-sil, solar and geothermal power plants. After receiving his Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering from the US Coast Guard Academy in 1964, Mr. Cunningham later earned a Naval Engineer Degree and a Masters of Science Degree in Mechanical En-gineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1970. Carol Cunningham Mrs. Cunningham is a member of the DGSI board of directors and serves as its Managing Director. She spent most of her childhood in Santa Monica, California, where her talents as an artist were recognized and developed through the local school system. After initially attending an art institute, Mrs. Cunningham changed directions and ul-timately pursued a college education as a civil engineer. She received her Master and Bache-lor of Science Degrees in Civil Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technol-ogy concurrently in 1971. During the 30 years prior to her activities with SRPC and DGSI, she primarily focused on developing, evaluating and acquiring more than 100 hydropower assets with a total capac-ity in excess of 5,000 MW. In 1994, the US National Hydropower Association recognized her dedication and contributions to the indus-try via its special annual award. Mrs. Cunningham served as Deputy Pro-ject Coordinator of the SRMP prior to the closing of its project financing. She then served as SRPC Land Acquisition Coordinator throughout 1998 and 1999. Since early 2000, she has been extensively involved with developing livelihood programs for the affected peoples and communities in support of SRPC and NPC, primarily through the activities of DGSI. After some 35 years of civil engineering practice, Mrs. Cunningham relishes creating handicraft and artistic prod-ucts again and helping others learn how to make them. Back to Top |
Dam Good Stuff, Inc. (DGSI) is a 60-percent Filipino-owned-and-controlled stock corporation formed under the Corporation Code of the Philippines in October 2002. It was created to provide additional sustainable livelihood opportunities for the families and communities affected by the San Roque Multi-purpose Project ( SRMP or Project ). 
Nearly 800 households in San Manuel and San Nicolas, Pangasinan and in Itogon, Ben-guet relocated due to the construction of the SRMP. They currently are establishing new means of livelihood with the support of SRPC, NPC, other agencies of the Republic of the Philippines, and DGSI. 
Mindful of the skills and educational backgrounds of these affected families, DGSI designs the products, sources raw materials, equipment, tools an d facilities for their manu-facture, provides skills training and markets the finished products wholesale in the Philip-pines abroad.