Awareness Campaign on UC-EC for Pulangi AD Holders

Proponent: Bukidnon Higaonon Tribal Association (BUHITA)
Amount: PhP 100,000
Project Start Date: November 05, 2015
Project End Date: November 27, 2015
Grant Type: Constituency - Building Grants
Area: Mindanao
Grant Status: Past

Project Goals and Objectives

BUHITA, through a planning workshop and awareness campaign, aims to provide an avenue to discuss common environmental concerns for the Ancestral Domain Owners situated upstream of the Pulangi IV Hydro-Power Plant of the National Power Corporation (NPC); provide appropriate information on the Universal Charge-Environmental Charge (UC-EC), as per EPIRA, for the Ancestral Domain Owners; discuss the current National Power Corporation (NPC) petition or Project Proposal (i.e., under Plan 12), for Pulangi IV Hydro-Power Plant, to the Energy Regulation Commission (ERC); document and discuss current environmental reality and sustainability concerns within the various Ancestral Domains; and identify and consolidate the appropriate project/ program interventions for Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADTs) owners, for possible submission to the NPC for funding requirement and inclusion under NPC’s Plan 13.

Outputs and Outcomes

The 3-day Awareness Campaign is the first of its kind ever undertaken in the Province of Bukidnon, made possible through funding assistance from an NGO (FPE). The prime movers of the said 3-day activity were from among the Ancestral Domain Owners themselves, with counterpart logistical support from the NCIP and the Bukidnon Environment and Natural Resources Office (BENRO) of the Provincial Government of Bukidnon.

The participants have been, to some extent, empowered and are very grateful for the assistance extended to them. They realized that, through the years, they have been undermined, or have not been involved/ informed by the NPC, as far as the funding for Watershed Management Projects is concerned; which, obviously, involves directly their respective Ancestral Domains. They also expressed the need to inform and/or empower other Ancestral Domain Owners situated within the headwaters of other River Systems that feed the existing and future Hydro Power Plants, regarding the EPIRA’s UC-EC, the ER 1-94, and the IPRA mandates on Environmental Accountability.

The participants expressed their desire (now, with confidence), in sharing their new learning to the other members of their respective COEs, as soon as they get back to their respective ADs. The results of the various workshops have been organized and packaged into a joint Project Proposal, from among the Ancestral Domain Owners (called the “Upper Pulangi River Core Group”), for funding and/or possible inclusion in the NPC’s up-coming Plan 13.