This research is in response to the alarming displacement induced by “development” which is estimated by the World Bank’s Environment Department to affect 10 million people each year due to dam construction, urban development, and transportation and infrastructure programs. Development-induced displacement is also an ongoing concern in the Philippines, such as the case of the San Roque Multipurpose Project (SRMP) in Pangasinan.
The study, which is an assessment of displacement management for SRMP, has the primary objective to determine if the SRMP-displaced households that opted to resettle in the Lagpan and Camanggaan resettlement sites were able to restore their pre-displacement livelihoods and living standards halfway through the economic life of the SRMP which has provided benefits to thousands of people in the region through power generation, irrigation, flood control, and improvement of water quality. The paper also aims to determine the location factors that contributed to the continued stay of the households in the resettlement areas, as well as the perception of these households on displacement management and post displacement life.
The findings of the research, based on the household survey and key informant interviews conducted, show that the resettlement in Camanggaan and Lagpan resulted in a shift to other sources of livelihood and the non-restoration of the pre-displacement monthly income of the majority of the displaced households.