LA TRINIDAD, Benguet—The management of the Hydroelectric Development Corp. or Hedcor, the Cordillera office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, and the La Trinidad Indigenous Peoples Organization recently signed an agreement to rehabilitate and upgrade the company’s Bineng hydropower plant.
The rehab would increase the plant’s power production from 5 megawatts to 19 megawatts using the water from the Balili River.
Hedcor’s proposed project within the La Trinidad ancestral domain has a projected annual power generation output of 59 million kilowatts per hour.
Among its requirements is the certification precondition from the NCIP, pursuant to Section 59 of the Indigenous Peoples Right Act. To get this, Hedcor needed the free and prior informed consent of the indigenous cultural communities in the area.
The La Trinidad indigenous folk did not object to the permits per NCIP Administrative Order No. 3, Series of 2012, paving the way for the plant’s construction and operation.
Under the agreement, the IPs are entitled to a royalty of 1 centavo per kilowatthour, which increases by a half centavo per kwh every five years of the plant’s operation. The actual annual share may be different from the IPs’ projected share of P591,577 in the plant’s first year since the royalty will depend on its actual power output as indicated in Hedcor’s audited financial statements.
The IPs will also receive a fixed special development fund of P792,713.70 throughout the operation of the power plant, which goes directly to the LTIPO within two months from the last day of the plant’s operation.
Per the agreement, the IPs will use their annual monetary shares for programs and projects as indicated in the Community Royalty Development Plan “that redound to their well-being and benefit, ensuring that not less than 30 percent shall be allocated for livelihood and social development projects,” the agreement adds.
Hedcor shall also provide the IPs projects such as a multi-purpose building, an annual scholarship fund of P240,000 for deserving IP students who hail from the domain, P100,000 for the purchase of IP musical instruments and native blankets needed in the performance of their traditional dances, annual medical and dental missions and lectures on family planning, funding support for the IP month celebration, “Lakbay-Aral” for LTIPO and the elders or leaders, and the construction of an IP viewdeck in strategic locations to view the project and other nearby scenic spots.
A joint monitoring team headed by three NCIP employee and two representatives each from the proponent, the host ICCs, and the LTIPO as members to monitor the agreement.