Tribal folk seek share in Casecnan power plant revenues

MANILA, Philippines - Indigenous people from Aurora, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino are asking President Aquino to compel the CE Casecnan Water and Energy Co. Inc. to give them shares in the income ffrom the operation of the multipurpose irrigation and power project.

The Bugkalot Confederation, composed of the Bugkalot Indigenous Cultural Communities (BICC) from the three provinces, sent a letter to the President seeking his help on the matter.

Aside from demanding shares in the revenue of the Casecnan power plant, the group also asked Aquino to compel the company to help protect the environment and release the flow of water for farmlands and fisheries downstream, as provided under a resolution of the National Water Resources Board.

The group said their demands have fallen on deaf ears for more than a decade now and caused the people to suffer.

BICC chieftain Rosario Camma, who is also the mayor of Nagtipunan town in Quirino province, said they would hold protest rallies if the National Irrigation Authority and the power company would continue to ignore their demands.