Sabangan, Mountain Province

In

the study on Indigenous Peoples participation and response to developmental projects, the proposal for a minihydro project at Sabangan, Mountain Province, was very much timely.

Hedcor Inc. Benguet senior vice president Chris Faelnar said the company will be investing a minimum of P1 billion for the construction of a 12.3-megawatt river run-off mini- hydro power plant to be located in barangays Namatec and Napua. This, he said after they were given the consent and the approval by the community, barangay, municipal and the provincial governments, giving the go signal for the start of the project. The amount of investment, he said, will include the construction of a road leading to the plant and the electro mechanical works needed in the operation. (Black and Hot, 2011)

Environmental: Reduces emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Because operations do not emit harmful by-products in the air. Promotes reforestation and environmental management. Responsible and sustainable hydro operations also mean caring for watersheds. Promotes cleaner, less polluted rivers. Returning the water to the rivers in a much cleaner state. Benefits to host communities: Operations taxes are sources of community revenue. Includes mandated taxes, voluntarily donation of gross revenues from electric generation to host communities

Local employment. Renewable energy facilities are labor intensive, giving us the opportunity to train and employ people from its own communities. Rural electrification. The benefits of electricity. Supports education, public health, and overall community development. We are empowering our communities by supporting projects and causes that improve lives. National Economic Benefits: Reduces our dependence on conventional energy fuels. Water is a clean and renewable source that is locally available. Saves our economy US dollar reserves.

In the opening consultations held by the NCIP together with the energy company proponent, it was explained to the people how a minihydro works. The consultation also aimed to forge agreements between the company, the local government and the IPs, which will benefit the affected areas.

In a series of consultation initiated by the NCIP-SABATA, the people of Sabangan especially from Napua and Namatec were brought to face the Project Proponent, Hedcor Inc., and discuss issues related to the project.

The waters from the town of Bauko which flows to the town of Sabangan will be used to generate electricity this mini-hydro, is neither mining nor a dam. And because the people of Sabangan resents the thought of being exploited by big companies, they demanded safeguards that will protect them and their environment, they also put up conditions roads and pathways on the outskirts of the town, jobs that will prioritize i-Sabangans, shares for their LGUs: that is what Memorandum of Agreement is all about.

Water has always been respected and regarded as mythical in the province. The Inudey Falls near the area even relates a myth or a story of a man who paid the price for defecating in the water - his anal orifice became the passageway of water. It made a point of a culture that respects the water, or nature as a whole. In the series of consultation where I attended, many elders expressed their concerns on the process of the development. They fear that the waters will stop itself from going to their farms if it is disturbed by wrong development, they fear the effect of the cutting of some trees that will be necessary for the access road that is required by the project.

In 2011, Memorandum of Agreement was signed by the three levels of government namely, the barangay, the municipal, and the provincial, with the project proponent, Hedcor Inc., after series of consultations that drew and outlined an understanding of what the proponent should do and not to do if they allow the project, taking in consideration the environmental, social, economic, and other aspects that will be affected by the project. Aside from taxes and royalties, stakeholders will be rewarded with infrastructure projects and even jobs, the project is expected to pave the way for development, as they choose to and as outlined in their agreement. (BusinessMirror, 2011)