MORE NEWS, BENGUET

Company has not secured prior consent of residents: Benguet folks oppose mining firm’s drilling
By Dexter A. See

ITOGON, Benguet – Thousands of residents here are opposing on-going drilling operations here of a mining company because it did not go through the required process of consultation and had no prior consent by the community. Despite the opposition to mining operation and related activities in indigenous cultural communities in this province, Anvil Mining Corp. proceeded with its initial drilling in Barangay Dalicno here.

Concerned indigenous people in the affected community, who are opposed to the drilling, have petitioned the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples in the Cordillera to intervene and address their plight. The firm’s exploration activities must pass through the required process as prescribed in the Indigenous peoples Rights Act (IPRA), they said.

The petitioners said the intervention by the NCIP in the brewing conflict is needed to clarify the contention of the company that it is exempted from the consultation process. The residents said the exploration permit granted to the company allegedly exempts it from the requirement of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) that companies must comply with before they can conduct any development activity in indigenous cultural communities.

But the affected indigenous people asserted that "the exemption" granted to the company does not prohibit them from exercising their rights over their ancestral domain which is affected by the exploration activities.

The Dalicno villagers want the Anvil drilling operations to stop pending the holding of a dialogue between them and the company’s management to address issues over the utilization of natural resources in their domain.

Furthermore, the tribal people said that the drilling operation of the company would result in the depletion of their limited sources of water as well as environmental problems. Indigenous communities in the mining areas and prospective mining sites in this vegetable-producing province have become more critical of proposals for the renewal of mining activities and other related operations because of their sad experience in the past.

Most mining communities in the province are now suffering from water pollution and environmental degradation which have greatly affected the sources of livelihood and the living condition. Benguet is considered one of the mineral-rich areas in the country, but it remains as a second-class province because the big mining companies exploiting its natural resources are not directly remitting the share from the national wealth tax to the concerned local government units. Large- and small-scale mining is one of the major sources of livelihood for thousands of people in the 13 towns of the province.


Beneco gets P21M from Sec Reyes as school is energized

TUBLAY, Benguet -- Department of Energy Sec. Angelo Reyes and National Electrification Administrator Editha Bueno released a loan of P21, 968,907.55 to Benguet Electric Coop. general manager Gerardo Verzosa and board president Benny Bomogao in Baguio City Wednesday, students of this small sitio at Barangay Tuel witnessed the energization of their school.

Though done in a simpler program, the energization of the Balangabang Elementary School emphasized the difficult terrain facing Beneco in its mission to energize rural areas. The BES has 48 students.

“Though the sitio is only a few kilometers from our main office in Alapang, the road just recently opened, and the funding used that was initially from our Internally Generated Fund was made possible with the initial releases from our P100 million approved loan from NEA,” said board member George Montes.

His area of responsibility covers Tublay municipality where Balangabang belongs. It was though Montes’ initiative that triggered the inclusion of Balangabang in Beneco’s’s energization project expansion.

“The Balangabang Elementary School was the priority and first to be given electricity, while the homeowners complete the connection requirements,” said engineering department manager Melchor Licoben.

“Even teachers do not want to be assigned here due to lack of electricity. Maybe because it makes it doubly difficult for them to prepare their daily lesson plans at night and they have to do it during the day on top of their teaching duties during the day,” said Flora Sim.

Sim, 42, is the president of the Parents Teachers Community Association of the school. Despite studying every night using gas or candles Sim’s daughter Maybelle, 10 years old, was the salutatorian of her grade 4 class last year.

“Very behind dagitoy ubbing compared kadagidiay students dita Baguio ken other areas. Ta nu ag-solicit kami iti computer, madi da ta awan kuryente. Nu adda masapul nga ipa-computer mi ket masapul apan kami pay idiay Baguio ,” lamented teacher Lorna Domingo, 26, who is handling grades 1 and 2 classes.

Their school was established in 1942, according to Sim and Domingo. Sim, like her daughter studied in the same school.

The BES serves students coming from “nearby” sitio’s like Dig-ong and Salabao.

Tiffany Pasiw, 10, Maybelle’s classmate and class valedictorian, comes from Dig-ong has to hike for an hour since Dig-ong is located in another nearby mountain, to and from school. “Narigat (It’s difficult to study),” Tiffany shyly described how she review her lessons every night by candle light.

“We are grateful for the arrival of electricity, because in the past we used to go out and look for pinewood to light our evening meals because gas is expensive. Secretary Reyes could have seen how difficult our road if only he was able to come)” said Carpeta Calado, 70 and resident of sitio Balangabang.

The P21.9 million awarded by Reyes was the third release of the P100 million loan granted by NEA to help Beneco fulfill its mission for rural electrification in Benguet.

About 134 sitios in Benguet are targeted to benefit from the loan, including Balangabang, whose releases commenced in 2007 with P50 million, P32 million in 2008, and P18 million in 2009. Project implementation is until 2010.


Benguet town folk, execs support takeover of dams

BOKOD, Benguet — Municipal officials here and residents living around the Ambuclao Dam in this town have expressed support for the impending takeover by SN Aboitiz Hydro Power, Inc. of the hydroelectric plant here. They said that the takeover would result in more revenues and benefits for the town compared to the time when it was operated by the National Power Corp. (Napocor).

The municipal government is expected to generate additional revenues and support from the affected people in the communities surrounding the dam. Local officials pledged support for the rehabilitation of the dam, saying it would provide an added source of power for the Luzon grid. They welcomed executives of the power company at a recent acquaintance meeting.

Earlier, SN Aboitiz executives reported that the company is investing at least $ 200 million or P8 billion in the rehabilitation of the 50-year-old power plant so that it could generate a maximum output of 225 megawatts. The residents have unsettled land problems with Napcor, but Aboitiz will be concerned only about the land where the power plant or other facilities are located.

However, the municipal council and executives of the company will sit down to address common concerns in relation to the operation of the dam. Corporate officials reiterated their commitment to ensure that environmental protection, livelihood, education and health programs are pursued hand in hand with the host communities.

Specifically, the fisherfolk community in Ambuclao which is engaged in the raising of tilapia will be provided training and technical support to enable them to improve the quality of their produce and to expand their market. Provincial officials have called on both the company and stakeholders to ensure that host communities will enjoy the benefits derived from the use of their natural resources.

Aside from the Ambuclao Dam, Aboitiz will also operate the Binga Dam located in Itogon, Benguet which is in the Agno River. This would boost the country’s power supply and avert a looming energy crisis in the next two years. The two dams which were constructed in the 1950s suffered heavy damages after the July 16, 1990 killer earthquake which caused heavy siltation.

Since, the dams have never regained normal operation. At present, the Ambuclao Dam is not operating, while the Binga Dam is operating in a minimum capacity. Ironically, the communities surrounding the dams were supplied power only in the mid-1990s or 40 years after the construction of the two dams.

With the new investor, local officials and other stakeholders are optimistic that they will not experience the disappointment caused by the false promises made to them by Napocor officials. The promises were about the payment for their properties gobbled up by the construction and operation of the power plants. – Dexter A. See