Page 11 - CENTRE REimagine a Bright Future - Another Power is Possible.cdr

For the coop, the move to produce its BENECO, for one, has been bold enough
own clean energy was also a step
toward empowering their local host
communities. This desire is clearly
manifested in the November 6, 2017
letter by BENECO Board President
Rocky Aliping to DoE Secretary
Alfonso Cusi:
07
to take the track of renewable energy.
But unfortunately, there are investors
within its area that has beaten it to the
draw in the acquisition of hydropower
service contracts (HSCs). Then so be it.
Only that the electric cooperative, or for
all ECs similarly situated, must be given
the opportunity to directly challenge the
HSCs of the private developers. Not that
BENECO wishes to have the HSC
cancelled. The desire is to allow the EC
to consult and negotiate with the
affected residents and provide its own
version on how to develop the renewable
energy resources of the community
covered by the HSC of the private
investor.
T h e p e o p l e m u s t b e g i v e n t h e
opportunity to choose and compare the
project of the project developer with that
of the electric cooperative in terms of
the benets the people deserve to
receive considering that the renewable
energy resources to be tapped for use are
within their domain. Here, there is a
need to understand the import of ECs as
franchise owners vis-à-vis ancestral
domains pursuant to the Indigenous
Peoples Right Act (IPRA).