Tinoc cancels MOA with Quad River

3 MIN READ

By DELIA BAGNI
www.nordis.net

TINOC, Ifugao — Tinoc folks decry the silence of the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) on their appeal to cancel their agreement with Quad River Power Corporation on the entry of a mini hydro power project at a peace forum held November 27-28, here.

During the community integration and Peace forum organized by the Regional Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Cordillera (RECCORD), residents of the affected barangays in the construction of a mini-hydro power plant in Tinoc said that they submitted a petition retracting their signatures therefore withdrawing as a party in the MOA for the certificate of precondition issued in 2012 by the National Commission on Indigeneous People (NCIP) due to the improper conduct of the Free Prior and Inform Consent (FPIC) process in relation to the proposed power project in the area.

The participating residents reiterated their rejection to the mini-hydro project being proposed by the Quad River Power Corporation on their ancestral domain during the open forum as one of the major issues in their town.

According to Elsa Bucati, one of the signatories in the MOA, they have decided to retract their signatures due to lack of proper consultation during the so-called FPIC process conducted by the NCIP and the lack of knowledge and information on the project.

She added that they were shut out by the FPIC team and the local officials everytime questions are raised about the negative impact of the project. The local officials evidently influencing the community to agree to the project despite the lack of knowledge and confusions caused among the residents.

Bucati shared that when the community learned that the pipes and penstock of the hydro was located in sitio Tunglag of barangay Eheb and covering seven square kilometers as catch basin they immediately made the certificate of retraction because they believe that their livelihood will definitely be destroyed and the school they have built for the children will be of no use.

Some residents of barangay Empugong and Tukucan stated that there was no FPIC process conducted in their barangays and details on the location of the tunnel, headwater and catch basin of the project were not shown casting doubts among the people.

They added that petitions were made to stop the FPIC and the construction of the project and sent to the offices concerned but no answers from them have yet been received.

Huh-Lucan Indigenous Farmers Organization president Ricardo Mayumi said that their community is faced by the threat of displacement and disunity in the community.

He added that the entry of Quad River Power Corporation deprived the people of development because of their opposition to the construction of the plant. Their local officials have refused to implement development projects to improve their area because the company promised to take these on, and they stated that development like road construction, electricity, water supply and livelihood will be brought only by the company.

He said that they no longer are relying on their local officials to intervene in their behalf because it is their officials who have been “pushing for our approval of the said mini hydro project”, during some assemblies the local officials neglected the peoples clamor to stop the project’s construction. Instead they have been convincing the people to agree to the project despite people’s lack of knowledge on the project.

“Sino makin madi iti development? Haan nga development ti disturbuen mi nu di ket ti epekto ti proyekto karkaro ta panagmula ti pangkabiagan mi ditoy ken dagiti masakbayan dagiti aanak mi” (Who does not want development? It is not development that we are refusing, it is the adverse effect of the project, especially that planting -farming- is our livelihood here and the future of our children.) Mayumi said.

Peace and Harmony Council and Lupon member Rudy Bilao added that they were cheated by NCIP and their officials because they used their attendance to say that they agreed to the project and there was no proper information dissemination done on the negative impact of the said project.

He added that they were even told that the land they are living on is owned by the government and they have no right to oppose the project despite Tinoc having been issued a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT).

Santa Clara Power Corporation (SCPC) applied for the issuance of Certificate of Precondition (CP) for a 9.6 Megawatt capacity run-off-river mini-hydro electric power plants affecting Barangays Eheb, Binablayan and Poblacion of Tinoc in 2007.

On October 9, 2008, SCPC was said to have acquired the nod of the community of Barangay Binablayan and they signed a MOA. The NCIP issued the CP in favor of SCPC on May 12, 2009. Three MOAs followed then. On April 2011, SCPC in partnership with AC Energy Holdings, Inc. (ACEHI) and formed three joint venture companies namely the Quad River Power Corporation, Phil new Hydro Power Corporation, and Philriver Power Corporation. The Tinoc project was given to Quadriver.

Mayumi with other landowners stated that help from advocates and concerned groups inside and outside Binablayan, and the residents give them strength and hope to continue their struggle for their right to their land because it is the only thing left to them. # nordis.net