TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Leaders of the indigenous cultural communities (ICCs) supporting 15-20 megawatt Upper Tabuk Hydro Power Project (UTHPP) in the Tanudan River close to where it converges with the Chico River have called upon the Timpuyog ti Mannalon ti Kalinga (TMK) and the Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA), two of the staunchest opponents of the project, to stop opposing it and help bring it to realization instead.
The call was issued during the forum organized by the Kalinga Anti-pollution Action Group (KAPAG), a local group advocating the environmental protection of the Chico River and the Tabuk Valley, to hear the sides of the proponents and opponents on August 31.
Jerome Tabanganay, acting president of the Dallac-Nanong-Minanga Indigenous People’s Organization (DANAMI IPO), an organization of three of the four ICCs in the area where the proposed project will be located, urged the CPA and TMK to support the project “because majority wants the project.”
Acknowledging the sacrifices of the CPA in fighting against the Chico River Dam Project and other injustices suffered by people in the region during Martial Law, Tabanganay said that the group pushing the project will be strengthened if the groups joined in.
Stating that his father was among those imprisoned during the struggle against the Chico Dam project, Samuel Suma-al, barangay captain of Dupag, the homeland of the Minanga and Malbong ICCs, told the two groups that there is a difference between the Martial Law project and the UTHPP.
He said that the people were never consulted about the Chico River Dam Project while since 2008, numerous meetings regarding the UTHPP have been held.
He said that the barangay has incorporated the hydro project in their barangay development plan (BDP) because they have experienced the difficulty of requesting projects from government agencies.
He declared that while the project may have disadvantages, these are outweighed by the advantages.
Naneng barangay captain Rommel Balunggay asked the CPA and TMK to open their minds to the desire of the people in the area for progress adding that the project will also benefit the people of neighboring Tanudan town.
He pointed out that the drowning incidents in the Chico River would be avoided with the construction of a bridge to the project site.
He told the two organizations that the Naneng tribe is divided across the middle when it comes to the project of the Karayan Hydropower Corp. (KHC) but it fully supports the UTHPP.
The 52 megawatt KHC project, a joint venture of San Lorenzo Ruiz Builders and Developers Group, Inc. and Union Energy Corp, entails the construction of a dam in the Chico River at barangay Lucog, the homeland of the Dallac ICC.
The TMK and CPA are also opposing the KHC project which is also in preparatory stages.
Heriberto Barila, secretary of the DANAMI IPO, told the opponents of the project that they too could become co-owners of the facility because as conceptualized , the developer and operator of the hydro power facility will be a corporation composed of local investors.
Speakers for the TMK and CPA did not respond to the calls of the leaders of the affected ICCs.**By Estanislao Albano, Jr.
