Members of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) on Tuesday picketed the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Cordillera office to call for the suspension of the Chico River Pump Irrigation Project.

The groups gathered in front of the NEDA office while officials of regional government agencies met to discuss the free prior and informed consent (FPIC) of the project.

More than 7,500 hectares of rice farms in the towns of Tuao and Piat in Cagayan province, and 1,170 ha in Pinukpuk, Kalinga province were expected to benefit from the irrigation project, according to the National Irrigation Administration.

The protesters alleged that the proponents of the P4.37-billion project violated the indigenous peoples' rights.

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