Tadiangan folks OK hydropower plant

TUBA, Benguet -- Indigenous people of Sitios Tagadi and Aguyad here in Barangay Tadiangan offered no objection to the proposed 3.8-megawatt run-of-river hydropower plant to be constructed by Hedcor, Inc. in the barangay.

The permission was granted by way of a memorandum of agreement between the Hedcor, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples or NCIP and the local council of elders/and leaders represented by Anita Madarang, Roy Mabanag, Erlinda Chomichig, Nora Acosta, Navarro Bassit, Benita Macario and Zaldy Guileng.

In return, Hedcor agreed to “respect the rights of the host and partner indigenous cultural community and indigenous people to their ancestral domains/lands and their traditional land ownership system to ensure their economic, social and cultural well-being”.

The hydropower developer also pledged that “no host and partner indigenous cultural community and indigenous people shall be displaced from their ancestral domains/lands by reason alone of constructing and operating the mini-hydropower project” by providing “specific measures with due consultation with the indigenous people for the conservation/protection of the ancestral domain” of the host and partner indigenous cultural community and indigenous people.

Hedcor shall pay the host and partner indigenous cultural community and indigenous people a royalty for every kilowatt-hour produced in every year of operation of the power plants and shall be subject to an escalation every five years of operation.

Hedcor shall also pay a monthly rental of the ancestral domain/land occupied by the mini-hydropower project components.

The project also promises employment opportunities to the local indigenous people “subject to a minimum qualifications needed for the job” and that “prior to the commencement of the operations, to provide schooling and training of qualified indigenous people for labor and staff position, including administrative and technical vacant positions”.

The signing of the memorandum of agreement was held at the Tadiangan Barangay Hall with NCIP Chairman Roque N. Agton, Jr.

Signing as witnesses were engineer Gregorio P. Jabonillo, Hedcor vice president for Mindanao operations; Alumno Ampaguey, chairman of the Tuba Indigenous People’s Organization; lawyer Amador Batay-an, regional NCIP director and Steward Batuna, member of the indigenous cultural community.

The agreement shall be effective for twenty-five years.