Mountain Province community retracts consent to proposed geothermal project

BAGUIO CITY — Residents and community members of Barangay Guina-ang submitted a community resolution to the regional office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Cordillera on 14 October 2026, retracting their consent and demanding an immediate halt to all ongoing geoscientific feasibility studies for a proposed geothermal energy project within their ancestral domain.

Community Resolution No. 01, Series of 2026, is titled “A Community Resolution Expressing the Collective Decision of the Community People on the Proposed Geothermal Project and to Call the Stop of the Ongoing Feasibility Geoscientific Study Including Geological, Geochemical and Geophysical Investigation by the Energy Development Corporation (EDC), to Retract the Memorandum of Agreement Signed April 22, 2026.”

The residents raised concerns over alleged procedural violations of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) and NCIP guidelines.

The community asserted that the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed on 22 April 2026 by barangay officials was executed without prior information and education campaigns (IECs) or legitimate community-wide consultations.

Under the IPRA and NCIP Administrative Order No. 3, Series of 2012, the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) process requires the active participation of all Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) and Indigenous Peoples (IPs) who own the ancestral domain.

The petitioners also argued that the MOA signatories were elected barangay officials acting in their capacity as government officials rather than community-appointed representatives, as required under Sections 22 and 24 of the FPIC guidelines.

Despite growing local opposition, EDC representatives entered Barangay Guina-ang on 27 August 2026 and conducted geological and geochemical activities, including sampling, on 7 and 10 September 2026.

The resolution outlines several demands approved by the community assembly, including a formal expression of opposition to the project, a declaration that the 22 April agreement is invalid, and a request for the NCIP and EDC to exclude Barangay Guina-ang entirely from Phase 1 of the study.

The community also sought official explanations regarding the consent process and full disclosure of project records. It called for an immediate halt to all field operations, with no resumption until proper prior written notice and genuine community consultations have taken place.

The residents emphasized that farming remains their primary source of livelihood, making the protection of their agricultural lands, irrigation systems, rivers and watersheds essential to their cultural integrity, safety and future generations.

They stressed that development should improve people's lives without sacrificing natural resources or ancestral domains.

Copies of the resolution were also sent to EDC, the NCIP Mountain Province Provincial Office, the Department of Energy, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Environmental Management Bureau, and the municipal government of Bontoc for their information and appropriate action.