BACNOTAN, La Union: The Kapangan-based Cordillera Hydroelectric Power Corp. (Coheco) has entered into a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with elders of the Bago tribe, living in Barangay Arosip here, that will allow the company to put up some of the poles of its transmission lines within the ancestral domain of indigenous peoples. Jingboy Atonen, Coheco legal counsel, said the signing of the agreement was achieved after the company underwent the required free and prior informed consent (FPIC) process with the affected indigenous peoples pursuant to Republic Act 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act. Under the law, companies intending to introduce development projects within the ancestral domain of indigenous peoples and indigenous cultural communities must first secure the consent of the affected indigenous peoples through the prescribed process. Based on the agreement, the indigenous peoples will be enjoying a P100,000 annual financial assistance from the company that will be used for scholarships of tribal beneficiaries aside from provision of funding support for construction of waterworks for the six sitios (enclaves within villages) and rehabilitation of the tribal hall in the area. Atonen said with the consent of the affected indigenous peoples as enshrined in the agreement, the local power company could now construct its 24-kilometer transmission line from its powerhouse in Barangay Badeo, Kibungan, Benguet to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, tapping the sub-station in Barangay Narra here that will traverse the town of Santol. Earlier, Coheco was able to secure the consent of the indigenous peples in Santol that allowed the company to construct the poles of its transmission lines from its powerhouse. Coheco plans to build a 60-megawatt run-of-river hydropower plant that will benefit the indigenous peoples of the ancestral domains of Kibungan and Kapangan, as the power plant is being viewed as a major economic driver in the area.
