Halted Power Firm In Benguet Not Giving Up In Getting IPs Nod

BAGUIO CITY (June 23, 2021)— Power firm Hedcor vows to continue reaching out Bakun, Benguet indigenous peoples for a dialogue or the customary “tongtongan” between the company and the Bakun indigenous peoples.
This despite being issued a cease and desist order (CDO)  by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)  Cordillera.
The NCIP Cordillera in its stoppage order on June 22, 2021 to Hedcor’s three run-of-river hydropower plants in Bakun, Benguet, directed the firm to cease its operations on the Lower Labay Hydro, FLS Hydro, and Lon-oy Hydro five (5) days after receipt of the CDO.
The issuance of the CDO was due to alleged irregularities regarding the Free Prior Informed Consent-Memorandum of Agreement (FPIC-MOA) between Hedcor and the Bakun Indigenous Tribes Organization (BITO), signed on October 15, 2019.
Hedcor’s Vice President for Corporate Services Noreen Vicencio insisted they have been compliant with all the requirements during the course of their application for Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). 
 “Hedcor is saddened by the NCIP-Cordillera’s decision to shut down its Bakun operations despite all efforts to come to a dialogue with BITO and the NCIP. 
She said the CDO will not just affect Hedcor, but also the customers and communities the company is serving. 
Vicencio added that Hedcor’s plants are very crucial in these times that the Luzon Power Grid is in a red alert situation. 
“The company looks forward to continuing to provide the benefits that the Bakun community is currently receiving from the generation of the plants.

Non-operation of the Bakun plants, however, means that the community shares and ER 1-94 funds will neither accrue nor accumulate,” she said.
Artemio A. Dumlao

Amianan Balita Ngayon