The Department of Energy recently signed the Kalinga Geothermal Service Contract (GSC) with Aragorn Power and Energy Corporation (APEC) and the Guidance Management Corporation (GMC) for the exploration of geothermal power source in the municipalities of Lubuagan, Pasil, and Tinglayan.
The GSC was signed on Sept. 24 in Manila by Sec. Angelo Reyes for DoE, Willy Ocier and Joaquin Rodriguez for APEC and GMC, respectively.
A separate memorandum of agreement was signed between the
communities who have given their Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) for the project and the two geothermal companies.
According to the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) provincial office here, the contract allows APEC and GMC to explore an area of 26,250 hectares for the duration of 50 years; five-year exploration period with two years extension; 25 years production and 18 years extension.
As of this writing, of the 11 ancestral domains covered by the application for exploration, only the IPs of Colayo, Balatoc, Guinaang, Dangtalan, and Dalupa-Ableg, all of Pasil, have given their FPIC for the project.
Earlier, IPs in the ancestral domains of Tulgao, Dananao, Sumadel, Tonglayan, Bangad all of Tinglayan; and Uma in Lubuagan complained to DoE why they were included in the coverage of the exploration when in fact no FPIC came from them.
According to NCIP-Kalinga field office, the GSC stipulates that only the areas with the FPIC of the IP affected are to be explored. While conducting consultations with the remaining IPs to get their FPIC, the NCIP assured the communities that the provisions of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act are strictly followed by the power and energy companies. |
