Blog by Jillie Karl Basan, one of the conveners of the Kabugao Youth.
In the north of the Philippines, in the Cordillera Administrative Region, there is a province famous for its precious and untouched natural resources: Apayao, also known as “the last nature frontier”.
This territory is home to the Isnag indigenous peoples and other indigenous communities, and it is a key biodiversity area: in its lush forests there are hidden the nests of the endangered Philippine eagle.
But this territory, and the rights of the indigenous peoples who live here, is now at risk. With the pretext of bringing “clean energy”, the Pan Pacific Renewable Power Philippines Corporation is trying to build here seven dams, along the Apayao and its tributaries.
The hydro-power plants would lead to irreversible damage: they will displace thousands of Indigenous peoples and impact hectares of land along the riverbanks where people grow their food, and where there are their burial and sacred grounds, public structures, churches, and schools. Moreover, these projects are being imposed in total disregard of their right to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC).
The community voted twice on a resolution to reject the project. But, by handpicking a few elders, the company started negotiating only with them. In 2021 they covertly signed a memorandum of agreement, binding the whole ancestral domain into something that local indigenous communities did not consent to. They even falsified some documents, including signatures of people who were deceased.
The indigenous community in Apayao is openly voicing out their opposition to the dam. But instead of being listened to, the most vocal members are being threatened, stigmatized, and red-tagged. But despite these attacks, they are resolute in their struggle and they are not giving up.
Along with the elders, I have stood at the forefront of the battles against these projects that risk displacing my family, my friends, and my community. They call us anti-development, but they fail to listen to how we view development. They belittle our definition of progress, and have tried to sway community members with empty promises of livelihood opportunities and free electricity. They call us ‘influenced by the terrorist groups’, even though everything we have done from the beginning has always been legal. They call us selfish for not wanting a ‘clean energy source’: what they are forgetting is that we, the indigenous peoples, do not have a high carbon footprint. It is them, these big corporations, that should pay the price. The mighty Apayao River sustained and nurtured our ancestors. It is our duty as younger generations to safeguard and protect what is rightfully and lawfully ours. For us, and for the Isnag-yet-unborn.
