Tribal folk seek share of NV power project profits

By Charlie Lagasca 

 BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya   –Bugkalot tribal folk have been holding protest actions at the remote mountain border of this province and Nueva Ecija to demand their share of profits from the operation of the Casecnan multipurpose irrigation and power project.

More than 500 Bugkalots from the adjoining provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino and Aurora, since two weeks ago, according to reports, have converged in front of the project management office of California Energy (CE) in Barangay Pelaway, Alfonso Castañeda town to press the American firm to release their share of profits.

CE owns and operates the $580-million Casecnan project, the major source of irrigation for more than 300,000 hectares of farmlands in Central Luzon and parts of Pangasinan via a 26-kilometer diversion tunnel from the Casecnan and Taal rivers in Alfonso Castañeda to Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija.

Constructed during the Ramos administration under a 20-year build-operate-transfer deal, the Casecnan project also generates some 100 megawatts of power for the Luzon grid.

Senior Supt. Valfrie Tabian, Nueva Vizcaya police director, said they have deployed 130 police personnel to ensure peace and order in the Bugkalot-dominated far-flung area.  

“The tribal residents have built makeshift tents in the area. There were some tensions, but so far the situation remains generally peaceful,” said Tabian, adding that 30 Army soldiers are also in the area to provide additional security.

The Bugkalots, known as Ilongots during their headhunting days, live in the remote mountain tri-boundary of Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, and Aurora. The Casecnan project site is part of their ancestral land.

Robert Cabarroguis, spokesman for the Bugkalot Confederation, said they are in the area to seek a peaceful settlement with CE officials and other concerned authorities for their claim on the proceeds of the Casecnan project.

“But they have been ignoring our presence. The (CE) management even padlocked all entrances to their premises. It’s obvious they don’t want to meet and talk to us,” he said. 

Reports said the CE management wants to address the tribal folk’s grievances in a proper forum with the presence of concerned government entities such as the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the National Irrigation Administration, which co-supervises the Casecnan irrigation facility.