Sabangan mini-hydro creates a stir

HAPPY WEEKEND

Gina Dizon

SABANGAN, Mountain Province -- The spilling of soil and other spoils along the Chico River brought about by construction of roads and cutting of trees by Hedcor got the ire of former Sabangan mayor Jupiter Dominguez who called for temporary stop of Hedcor‘s construction of its 14 megawatt minihydro here pending construction of structures to prevent soil erosion.

The Sabangan minihydro plant with its 3.2 kilometer long headrace from the intake weir to the powerhouse is a run-of-river hydropower plant that will generate power from the waters of the Chico River to over 55 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy annually.

Hedcor is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corporation.

And it will be judgment day for Hedcor on Feb. 11 if the local government would reocomment a stop to project works pending mitigation measures to be done by the company.

In a meeting here  with  Hedcor, officials of  the local government unit of Sabangan and barangays  Napua and Namatec and residents Jan. 23, it was noted that spoils from earth movements should be hauled to an engineered disposal area to serve as a dumping site  to prevent environmental destruction on project site and nearby areas.  

The Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) issued by DENR October 2011 calls for the construction of a disposal area to be developed prior to road constructions and other earth movements.  The project implements development of existing and construction of access roads to project site.  

The ECC provides that “earth and other construction spoils, solid wastes and other form of wastes shall be prevented from deposition to and along the course of the Chico River and other environmental sensitive areas.”

Dominguez said construction of permanent structures along the slopes near the Chico River is necessary before the rainy season comes to prevent erosion and siltation on the river.

Engineer Raffy Macabiog, Hedcor’s engineering supervisor of the minihydro project located at Namatec and Napua said spoils shall be cleared before Feb. 5 and other corrective measures done by end of February.

He also said erosion control measures had been in place to mention sandbagging and rock armouring.

Dominguez, an engineer by profession however said sandbagging and rock armouring are not durable enough to withstand erosion.

It was noted that the ECC-provided multipartite monitoring team (MMT) composed of   Department of Environment and Natural Resources - Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) and local leaders of Sabangan and Mountain Province, and representatives from Hedcor apparently did not do their functions.

Following the Jan. 23 meeting, a separate and independent municipal monitoring team composed of representatives from the private sector, church, media and the LGU to meet on regular schedules was created by Sabangan Mayor Donato Danglose to monitor implementation of the project based on ECC guidelines and free prior and informed consent (FPIC)-memorandum of agreement issued by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.

Earlier, Ceasar Bulagsay of the Napua United Guides Association reported damages caused by road construction at Napua especially along the route leading to Nanbayo Falls route.  

The report reaching the Municipal  Tourism Council and the  Municipal  Solid Waste  Management Council  of Sabangan  moved mayor Danglose to  form an investigation team  headed by Sangguniang Bayan councillor Fausto Ballakis to validate the  report  and do immediate inspection of the  construction site  and reported damages.

Danglose further issued a letter to Hedcor expressing concern on environmental damages further demanding Hedcor to show cause why a cease and desist order shall not be issued to violations of the FPIC-MOA and the ECC.

The FPIC-MOA with the indigenous peoples of Napua and Namatec covering the Tinmakudo ancestral domain issued February 2011 called on Hedcor “to prevent, mitigate or avoid disastrous ecological damages within the project area brought about by the construction of the hydro power plant.”

The 25-year memorandum of agreement between HEDCOR and the Sabangan local government unit calls on Hedcor to initiate measures “to protect and preserve the forest and water resources within the territorial jurisdiction of the municipality”. Ground breaking of the 14 megawatt mini hydro was observed June 18, 2013.

Earlier Fausto Ballakis and  Ernesto Bondad, both municipal councilors of this town, chairman and member of the just formed Sabangan Community Monitoring Team (SCMT), said that SCMT scheduled their site inspection on Feb. 11 and will be submitting their recommendation to the mayor if suspension will be issued to the work operation or not.

Danglose called for a special meeting with Hedcor Jan. 23 to tackle issues regarding their alleged violations on the FPIC-MOA and ECC in constructing the mini-hydro power project at barangays Namatec and Napua.

During the meeting, Hedcor and the local government unit arrived at a compromise wherein the local government unit will not suspend the project due to alleged violations and Hedcor must work the soonest possible time to address the complaints. However it will be monitored by the just formed SCMT which will make their recommendation to the municipal mayor.

 “It will be up then to our report if SCMT finds that Hedcor is really making efforts to address the alleged violations if it’s okay but if not then SCMT will make their recommendation for suspension of work until the alleged violations will be properly addressed,” Bondad added.

Last year, a lot of verbal complaints reached the office of the mayor regarding violations of the contractor on the implementation of the mini-hydro power project.

Said complaints were brought out during the meeting and this time were accompanied by a lot of pictures. These were however denied by Hedcor and their contractor, Santa Clara Intn’l Corporation,   

The mayor relayed to them that soil and fallen cut trees were not being properly placed in the designated disposal areas.

But again the people near the project site insisted that Hedcor  and Santa Clara personnel were lying. This prompted the mayor to request the SB committee on environment to validate said complaints.

Last Dec. 23, 2013, the committee came up with a validation report but was only transmitted to the office of the mayor last Jan. 6,.

Said validation report said complaints were meritorious and recommended issuance of cease and desist order on the project.

Last Jan. 9, the mayor issued a letter to Hedcor with pictures and the validation report attached demanding Hedcor to show cause within seven days or a cease and desist order will be issued for the project.

Hedcor submitted their reply last Jan. 16 relaying their explanation to the issues raised saying that they will comply and in fact have started to address the issues.

The mayor then called for a meeting with Hedcor and Santa Clara last Jan. 23, 2014 in the presence of barangay and municipal officials, and other sectors and agencies.

During the meeting, Hedcor representatives using a power point explained they have already cleaned the cut trees and were working on the earth spoils using sand bags and rock armoring method.

PENRO Manny Pogeyed said what they just presented can warrant the cancellation of their Environmental Compliance Certificate.

Atty. Kalangeg, legal officer of NCIP, reminded those present on provisions of the Free prior Informed Concent-Memorandum of Agreement (FPIC-MOA).

He talked more on employment of the host community and sub-contracting of local contractors in the area as  provided in said FPIC-MOA.

For his part, councilor Ernesto Bondad, narrated dilemma of the people of Sabangan during the presence of Kairuz Lumber operating in the very site of the project.

Together with Ireneo Pilacan, punong barangay of Poblacion, they explained that the salary being offered by Santa Clara, though complying with the minimum standard pegged by DOLE which is 263 pesos, was too low compared to  existing minimum wage in the community which is P300 with free lunch and two snacks. – With reports from Gabriel T. Moguet