Even though SJ is still not quite back on schedule (I write this in
August 1981), we are happy that most of the material we bring our readers
this issue is very current.

Local newspapers—post-martial law Dumaguete boasts five commu-
nity weeklies, with one more rumored soon—and even the national dailies
have recently taken much notice of Balinsasayao, an area of great nat-
ural beauty a bumpy hour-and-a-half drive from Dumaguete. At issue
is a proposal to tap the waters of the twin lakes for hydroelectric power
generation. Proponents cite the country’s need to end dependence upon
foreign sources of energy, and the necessity to have power available for
the industries that the government is trying to attract to Negros Oriental.

Opponents, the Silliman University Environmental Center among
them, question the proposal on several grounds. For instance, is it feasible
to expect a continuous power source from a lake that has no outlet, and,
far from having a surplus of water, is actually receding year by year? If
the project is built, would lowering the lake also lower the surrounding
water table and perhaps have adverse effects on the tropical rain. forest?
Might not lowering the lake eliminate fish breeding areas, depriving near-by
residents of an essential protein source? What effect might the construc-
tion of a power plant have on organic pollution in the lake? Note that the
environmental questions raised are very closely related to the recommen-
dations coming out of the independent studies of Alcala and Carumbana
and of Lowrie, et al., both completed long before the current controversy.

Discussion of Balinsasayao is further complicated by the fact that
another, much larger power source is presently being developed in Negros
Oriental. Geothermal wells in Valencia will soon be producing more than
six megawatts of electricity, and by 1983 more than 200 megawatts should
be available, enough for the entire island of Negros, with submarine
cables envisioned to feed Cebu and Panay. Why, then, Balinsasayao?
The answers that the geothermal power is “reserved for industry” or “too
expensive” seem less than Satisfactory when it is recalled that New Zea-
land government aid for the project was given to further “rural electri-
fication.” We promise to keep our readers posted.

Although certainly not the “hot” issue politically that Balingasayao
is, sixteenth century Philippine history is a subject of some dispute also.
A recent speaker on the Silliman University campus told of his efforts to
establish by archeological means why it was that Filipinos did not resist
the occupation of their islands by the Spanish conqaistadores. T. Valentino
Sitoy’s historical study takes issue with that “fact” of non-resistance,
enshrined in Philippine history books. Although Filipinos did not—

perhaps wisely—meet Spanish cannons with bows and arrows, resist they
did, but in subtle: ways that may have_escaped previous historical notice.

Jean-Paul Dumont’s contribution to our “Notes” section is the first of
what we hope will be a series of reports on his recent experience in Siqui-
jor. We look forward to forthcoming articles making use of the genealogies
of farmer-fishermen the Dumonts collected.

Once again, SJ presents a substantial selection of book reviews; a
new feature is an index to Volumes 26 and 27. We are grateful to Mrs.
Nena S. Guasa of the Silliman University Library (and part time Busi-
ness Manager of SJ) for compiling the index.

D. L.