KIBUNGAN, Benguet – The barangay council of Badeo here passed a resolution requesting the officers of the Bagesbes clan to enlighten the barangay officials on their stand on the proposed 500-megawatt hydroelectric power project of COHECO Badeo Corporation.
In Resolution No. 28, series of 2016 dated October 10, 2016, the barangay council stated that it is interested to know the reasons of the Bagesbes clan officers headed by its president Leonero Joseph why they want to stop the pump storage project of the corporation when there are no other properties of their clan that will be affected, except for only who happens to favour the ambitious project.
COHECO Badeo Corporation reportedly announced its plan to construct a 500-megawatt pump storage hydroelectric power project in Badeo without passing through the required processes pursuant to the provisions of the Indigenous Peoples rights Act (IPRA) and allegedly intruded to the ancestral domain of Kibugan by reportedly secretly conducting supposed drilling operations, survey of the affected properties and put up of shanties for their full blast drilling operations in the absence of the consent of indigenous peoples.
Subsequently, Joseph wrote a letter to Mayor Cesar Molitas requesting him to stop the pursuit of the multi-billion hydroelectric power project because it will reportedly affect the lands of the Bagesbes clan.
The barangay council noted upon verification, there were no other lands of the Bagesbes clan that will be directly affected by the proposed renewable energy project, except for only one member who happens to favour the proposed project of the corporation.
According to the resolution, the members of the barangay council know that the construction of hydroelectric power plants in their barangay by COHECO Badeo Corporation and other hydro power corporations will reportedly bring added benefits and developments in their very poor and undeveloped barangay.
It can be recalled that no less than the Cordillera office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP-CAR) found that COHECO Badeo Corporation allegedly intruded into the ancestral domain of Kibugan when it reportedly performed activities related to the conduct of the free and prior informed consent (FPIC) process without the expressed approval of the regulating agency, thus, it issued a cease and desist order stopping the company from proceeding with whatever FPIC activities and for the company to comply with the submission of pertinent documents for the evaluation of the agency prior to the conduct of full blown FPIC process.
Further, the municipal government also stopped the conduct of information and education campaign activities in relation to the project after the lawyer of the Bagesbes clan informed local officials of the existence of the cease and desist order considering that the NCIP-CAR acquired jurisdiction over the conduct of FPIC related activities for the project.
Earlier, NCIP-CAR officials revealed that it already acquired jurisdiction over the FPIC process for the project, thus, all related activities must have the expressed consent of the regulating agency to ensure the monitoring on how the activities are being done pursuant to existing laws, rules and regulations.
By HENT