Bontoc community opposes Mt. Province geothermal project

BAGUIO CITY — A community in Bontoc, Mountain Province submitted a resolution opposing a proposed geothermal energy project by the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) to the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples office in the Cordillera on Wednesday.

The community of Barangay Guina-ang is demanding an immediate halt to ongoing geoscientific studies and its exclusion from a memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed on April 22, covering the first phase of a pre-feasibility study for the EDC-led Mainit-Sadanga Geothermal Project Prospect (MSGPP). 

In Community Resolution No. 01, Series of 2026, which was adopted on Sept. 13, residents questioned the agreement’s validity, alleging that barangay officials signed it without prior community consultation or an information and education campaign on the proposed project.

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The community also questioned whether the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) process required under the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) had been properly conducted in Guina-ang.

Although the MOA reportedly states that FPIC was obtained in accordance with NCIP Administrative Order No. 3, Series of 2012, the resolution asserts that no community-wide consultation was conducted and that residents were not adequately informed about the proposed project.

The community further questioned the authority of the barangay officials who signed the agreement on behalf of the indigenous communities, saying they were not appointed to represent them in the required FPIC assemblies.

The resolution cited field activities conducted by EDC representatives and technical personnel in Guina-ang on August 27, as well as geological and geochemical investigations, including sampling, on September 7 and 10.

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Residents are seeking the NCIP’s explanation of the FPIC process used as the basis for the April 22 agreement. They also requested copies of relevant records, including the Field-Based Investigation Report, notices and minutes of meetings, attendance sheets, consensus-building records, resolutions of consent or non-consent, project maps, and the Certificate of Precondition.

If a community-wide FPIC process was not conducted in Guina-ang, the community wants the NCIP to confirm this in writing and explain the legal basis for including the barangay in the agreement.

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The resolution formally expresses the community’s opposition to the proposed geothermal project and withdraws any previous support or consent given on its behalf. It also declares the MOA invalid from the community’s perspective and calls on the NCIP and EDC to undertake the necessary steps to exclude Guina-ang from the agreement.

Residents further demanded that geothermal-related field activities stop immediately and that no such activities resume without prior written notice to and proper consultation with affected communities.

The community underscored the importance of protecting its agricultural lands, irrigation systems, forests, rivers, watersheds, and other natural resources, which sustain local livelihoods and cultural identity.

It maintained that development should improve people’s lives without sacrificing their natural resources and ancestral domain.

Lawyer Wilson Kalangeg, NCIP Development Management Officer V for the Cordillera and head of the Regional Review Team, said the agency would first validate the claims raised in the community resolution before taking action.

He said the NCIP would also convene a community assembly to verify the resolution’s contents. “It has to go through the process,” Kalangeg said.

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He added that the FPIC process for the proposed geothermal project remains ongoing. The regional office has returned the FPIC report to the NCIP provincial office with comments and recommendations, but he declined to disclose further details./coa