KABAYAN, Benguet – The Cordillera office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP-CAR) revealed the Aboitiz-owed Hydroelectric Development Corporation (HEDCOR) Inc. can still seek reconsideration with the affected indigenous peoples (IPs) on the rejection of their proposal to operate a 52-megawatt power complex along the Agno River from Amlimay, Buguias up to Pacso, here.
Lawyer Roland Calde, NCIP-CAR regional director, said under the existing guidelines on free and prior informed consent (FPIC), proponents can still file a motion for reconsideration with the affected IPs by submitting a new offer against their earlier proposal for reconsideration.
“The company has sufficient time to seek reconsideration for the possible reversal of the decision of the IPs to reject the plan of the company to operate a power plant within their ancestral domain,” Calde stressed.
The NCIP-CAR official underscored there is nothing wrong for the company to submit a new offer to the affected IPs, possibly improving their original proposal for the assessment and evaluation of the members of the council of elders to convince them to change their decision in favor of their renewable energy project within their domain.
During their consensus-building activity last week, the IPs of the municipality voted to reject the proposal of HEDCOR Benguet Inc. to put up a series of hydro power plants along the Agno River from Amlimay, Buguias to Pacso here, underscoring the fact that the IPs vehemently oppose the company’s plan to conduct tunneling to increase the production of hydropower energy.
With a vote of 58 Council of Elders members voting in favor of the project, 62 against and 8 abstentions, the Kabayan IPs said that they will treat project proponents of the resources in their domain as partners and not as sole owners of the renewable power plants that will operate in their domain.
Calde opined once the IPs will again deny the motion for reconsideration to be filed by the power company, then it will be clear that they do not want the entry of prospective developers in their ancestral domain which must be respected.
Republic Act 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) provides that individuals and companies intending to develop the resources of the State must first secure the free and prior informed consent (FPIC) of the IPs living within the domain where the exploitation, development and utilization of the resources will be done before conducting any activity in the applied areas.
The law empowers the regional and provincial offices of the NCIP to closely supervise the conduct of the required FPIC process to make sure that the affected IPs and ICCs will not be trampled upon by the companies interested to explore and develop the rich resources of the State.
The Cordillera has abundant potential hydropower resources because of the free-flowing water on its various river systems nurtured by thick forest covers over several watersheds in the different parts of the region but which are now under threat due to human activities, corporate projects and climate change.
By HENT