Hedcor aims to further community development in Bakun, Benguet by releasing P5 million worth of financial assistance.
This came about after Hedcor was granted a Certification Precondition (CP) by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples for the continued operation of its Bakun hydro plants, which will provide another 25 years of continued benefits for the Bakun IP community.
“Bakun has been our partner for development in the past 30 years, and we want to further grow with them for the years to come. We embrace their support in the smooth operation of our 12.4MW Bakun hydro power plants,” said Hedcor President and Chief Operations Officer Rolando Pacquiao.
Pacquiao said the agreement is a step forward in advancing the welfare and interest of the community. Hedcor will continually strive to not only pioneer renewable energy generation but to also bring about progress in Bakun.
He said every move and decision this partnership of Hedcor has with Bakun, the locals’ well-being will be prioritized.
The CP confirmed the approval of the NCIP en banc of the memorandum of agreement between Hedcor and the Bakun Indigenuos Tribal Organization (BITO).
IPs of Bakun renewed their partnership with Hedcor through a MOA signing on Dec. 27, 2021, led by BITO Chairman Mario Morales and then Hedcor AVP for Special Projects, Rey Rafael. A ceremonial signing and cañao followed on Jan. 13 which was attended by BITO, Hedcor, and NCIP-CAR. The MOA is supplemental to the FPIC-MOA signed on Oct. 15, 2019.
The Bakun community will collectively receive aggregated mandatory shares, voluntary benefits, and projects. These include Department of Energy mandated shares, ER 1-94 funds, royalty shares and projects outlined in the 2019 MOA, and the supplemental benefits agreed upon in the negotiation last July 28, 2021.
The agreement of the Bakun LGU and BITO to combine the benefit shares from Hedcor’s LGU voluntary MOA proposal and the supplemental benefits to the BITO paved the way for the simultaneous resolution of the LGU concerns and also addressing the requests of the IP community. – Press release
