Vizcaya tribal folk threaten to disrupt Casecnan project

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — One of the indigenous communities here is threatening to disrupt the operations of the Casecnan Multi-Purpose Irrigation and Power Project (CMIPP) in Alfonso Castañeda town, former House Minority Leader Carlos Padilla said yesterday.

Padilla said the Bugkalots are now restive over the continuing refusal of the US-based California Energy (Cal-Energy), which owns and operates the $10.5-million irrigation and power project, to comply with its financial commitments to their mountain municipality.

Padilla authored the creation of Alfonso Castañeda, about five hours’ drive from this capital town, as a separate municipality for the Bugkalots.

He said the tribal folk feel "betrayed" by Cal-Energy due to its alleged reluctance to pay their municipal government real property taxes and other dues for the utilization of their natural resources.

"While Cal-Energy is now profiting much from the utilization of our natural resources, our Bugkalot brothers, who nurtured these resources, are not getting their fair share. They are being fooled and taken for granted by Cal-Energy officials," Padilla said.

Earlier this week, Alfonso Castañeda Mayor Jerry Pasigian, a Bugkalot himself, and other tribal leaders aired threats to barricade the roads leading to the CMIPP site after Cal-Energy failed to secure a business permit to operate in the municipality.

Cal-Energy officials, however, were able to obtain a temporary restraining order from Regional Trial Court Judge Godofredo Naui here, preventing the Alfonso Castañeda officials from suspending CMIPP operations.

CMIPP’s diversion tunnel and other vital facilities are located within the territorial jurisdiction of Alfonso Castañeda.

No Business Permit

Pasigian said Cal-Energy failed to secure a business permit, prompting the municipal government to order the closure or suspension of CMIPP operations.

He said the closure order was in compliance with Ordinance No. 58, requiring every local business firm to first secure tax clearances from the provincial and municipal treasurer’s offices before it is granted a permit to operate.

Cal-Energy is also locked in a legal battle with the provincial government over the payment of real property taxes.

Lawyer Desiderio Perez, provincial legal consultant, said Cal-Energy still owes over P100 million in overdue real property taxes which have accumulated since it started operating in 2001.

Cal-Energy, however, passed on the obligation to the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) which it said is the one operating the CMIPP’s irrigation component. 

Cal-Energy said this is stipulated in the memorandum of agreement (MOA) it had forged with the NIA.

Alfonso Castañeda officials, however, refuse to recognize the MOA, insisting that Cal-Energy should be the one to fulfill its obligations to the municipality.

NIA Scored

Padilla, a long-time representative of Nueva Vizcaya’s lone congressional district, supported the local officials’ view, saying the NIA has no business protecting Cal-Energy.

"Cal-Energy is always hiding under the skirts of the NIA, which is not the operator of the project. The NIA, on the other hand, should take the cudgels for the Bugkalots," he said.

"Cal-Energy has to pack up. Their stay here is not only illegal but also highly immoral," added Padilla, suggesting that the NIA take over the CMIPP.

Constructed under a 25-year, build-operate-transfer scheme, the CMIPP was one of the flagship projects of the administration of former President Fidel Ramos.

The CMIPP now irrigates at least 300,000 hectares of farmlands in Central Luzon and some parts of Western Pangasinan, through a 30-kilometer underground tunnel from Alfonso Castañeda to the Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija.

The CMIPP is also generating at least 500 megawatts for the Luzon grid.

Recently, Bayombong Bishop Ramon Villena castigated Cal-Energy officials for their failure to settle their financial responsibilities to the province and the municipality of Alfonso Castañeda.

"This foreign firm has been cheating us of our economic benefits. They are utilizing our God-given resources, yet they do not want to compensate us, especially the Bugkalot communities," he said.

The ancestors of present-day Bugkalots, also known as Ilonggots, were known for their head-hunting practices.