Fulfill promises, Baguio gov’t told: Tribe diverts river flow, shuts down power plants

By Dexter A. See

TUBA, Benguet — Tribal people of this town, protesting the inaction by the city government of Baguio on their demand, diverted the flow of water in the Asin River here and, as a result, shut down the three Asin hydroelectric power plants owned and operated by the city.

The tribe’s drastic action was caused by the failure of city to fulfill its commitment to pay the land claims of the people affected by the hydropower project.

The ancestral-land claimants said they were forced to divert the water leading to the three power plants to force city officials into negotiating with them.

They said the city government’s commitment to provide them financial assistance has remained an unfulfilled promise for several years now.

Members of the Tadiangan Hydroelectric Ancestral Land Claimants Association said they have yet to see a firm commitment by the city to address their concerns.

They said they have been communicating their concerns to the city since Mayor Reinaldo A. Bautista took over the reins of the city government.

The members of the association said they resorted to the drastic action of diverting the flow of the water in the Asin River because they urgently need the city’s financial assistance for their livelihood activities.

The claimants accused the city government of not being serious in their commitment to settle their land claims.

Last year, the group wrote the city government and informed city officials of their intention to divert the flow of the water which runs the turbines of the three power plants.

The claimants gave the city government 60 days to look for other sources of water. When the 60-day deadline expired, they indeed made good their threat to divert the flow of water.

They said they are ready to face any action to be taken by the city against them, adding they are just asserting their rights enshrined in the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA).

The claimants cited the water which currently feeds the power plants will be used for agricultural and livelihood purposes, noting that the city is earning a huge income from it without giving them their share in the use of their national wealth, which is the free-flowing water.

The Asin power plants generate a combined power output of six megawatts. The power is sold to the various public utility firms and the city government.

It was noted that since the city government took over the operations of the facility, it could not reach its maximum production because of the lack of expertise by the city officials.