By SHERWIN DE VERA & MARIA ELENA CATAJAN
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines—The Cordillera, a region rich in natural resources and home to a majority indigenous population, has long been a battleground between the government’s investment agenda and indigenous peoples’ asserting their right to land and self-determined development.
From extractive industries to energy projects, the region has experienced successes and struggles, shaping how its people perceive these ventures as threats or economic opportunities.
However, communities in the region have consistently been wary of corporate, large-scale energy projects, especially those that involve damming rivers. The scars the Chico River Dams Project left under the Marcos dictatorship remain fresh, with several communities in Kalinga, Apayao, and Ifugao continuing to resist hydropower projects.
Beyond environmental and livelihood concerns, allegations of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) violations persist. Community royalty shares also remain a contentious issue. For instance, Bokod communities rejected SN Aboitiz’s royalty offer for the continued operation of the Ambuklao Dam, calling it “pitiful and exploitative.”
Brewing storm
Under the “green energy” banner, the government aims to push renewable energy’s share to 50 percent by 2040, and the region finds itself at the heart of this shift.
Cordillera’s huge drainage area, spanning 5.5 million hectares, carries an estimated hydropower potential of almost 6,695 megawatts, a goldmine for those eager to tap into its currents.
The government intends to accelerate the development of renewable energy sources, mainly hydropower. The Cordillera Renewable Energy Master Plan 2024-2023 noted 51 commissioned renewable energy projects, 23 of which are community-based systems.
The document also lists nine priority projects with a potential of 662.4 MW and a total investment requirement of ₱113.27 billion from 2024 to 2033. As of November 2024, the DOE awarded 1,394 renewable energy projects, and 103 are in Cordillera, 90 percent of which are from hydropower.
However, Right Energy Partnership with Indigenous Peoples executive director Robie Halip contends that “large dams are not clean energy,” an argument that environmental groups and climate activists have also asserted.
Large dams are those at least 15 meters high or between 5-15 meters high, holding over 3 million cubic meters.
“The mindset is also more to service the majority rather than address the needs of off grid, far-flung communities thus all these large-scale renewable energy projects,” she said.
Critics have also raised the issue of Cordillera’s actual energy derived from corporate hydropower generation. Despite hosting 16 commercial hydropower facilities with a combined 316-megawatt capacity, the region remains dependent on fossil fuels. Only four of the six electric cooperatives have renewable energy sourced from hydropower and geothermal.
Early adoption, slow expansion
Cordillera communities adopted decentralized renewable energy early, with the microhydropower plant built in Brgy. Ngibat in Tinglayan, Kalinga. Built in 1994, it is considered the country’s second oldest installation and longest-running system.
Non-profit and church organizations facilitated and promoted microhydros as a reliable source of power for far-flung villages. It was seen as an alternative to large dams, deemed ecologically and socially disruptive, as contained in the World Commission on Dams report.
Solar modules were also utilized during the initial efforts to energize off-grid households, with 10 municipalities in Abra and Ifugao as beneficiaries. The system was explored as an alternative to costly grid expansion, for instance, in Kalinga, with its first solar panels installed in 2009, providing electricity to three barangays in Pinukpuk.
Despite these early efforts, further investment in developing and expanding microgrids and standalone systems from other RE sources was slow in communities and electric cooperatives.
The National Electrification Administration’s (NEA) record of completed renewable energy projects from 2009 to 2019 does not include any in the Cordillera. Only three electric cooperatives, Kalinga Apayao Electric Cooperative (KAELCO), Ifugao Electric Cooperative (IFELCO) and Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO), have invested in hydropower.
Standalone Home Systems (SAHS) and microgrids utilizing renewable energy sources are available for electric cooperatives and distribution utilities under the National Total Electrification Roadmap to meet their obligations to energize communities. However, there was no target set for the region for SAHS under the plan, which covers 2023-2028, despite its adaptability to the region’s rugged terrain and the distant location of villages.
Government-led solar and wind projects in the region are also few, composed chiefly of solar lighting in public places, streets, roads, and several water systems for household and agricultural use. Meanwhile, the proposed solar power plants in Tabuk City, Kalinga, andTuba, Benguet, announced in 2022, have yet to start.
Cordillera’s electric cooperatives remain tethered to fossil fuels, making them susceptible to changes in the international market and plant shutdowns.
This vulnerability was evident when KAELCO’s rates rose to P16/kWh during the second quarter of 2022, prompting consumer and local officials to call for a probe. KAELCO reasoned that the spate of price hikes was due to the rise in oil and coal prices caused by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Kalinga, Abra, and Mountain Province belong to the top 10 electric cooperatives and distribution utilities in Luzon, with the highest average rate in the last four years. Kalinga is seventh in the country.
Halip sees the lack of recognition of community-led initiatives as the reason large-scale hydropower projects continue dominating investment.
“There is also lack of support (financial and technical) for these community based renewable energy initiatives to thrive and operate independently,” she explained.
Meanwhile, the Institute of Climate and Sustainable Cities states that power distribution utilities consider standalone systems like rooftop solar panels as “disruptors” because their revenue model relies primarily on consumers’ consumption per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
“When consumers generate their own electricity through distributed energy systems like rooftop solar, their reliance on grid-supplied electricity decreases, leading to reduced kWh consumption and, consequently, lower revenue for (distribution utilities),” the institute explained.
Instead of viewing this as a threat, ICSC said distribution utilities should take it as an opportunity to explore Rooftop Solar Leasing, where they install and maintain solar panels while consumers pay a fixed or per-kWh rate. The system ensures revenue stability and supports the Philippines’ clean energy transition.
Issues and challenges
The growing popularity of standalone solar systems and lamps has encouraged non-profit groups like the Center for Development in the Cordillera to explore its viability alongside its existing program of promoting community-managed microhydropower. Its project includes solar-powered lamps and a water system in Kalinga.
However, CDPC acknowledges contentious issues with promoting solar power, like the need for large tracts of land, the disposal and recycling of solar panels, and the need for transition minerals for the panels and batteries.
“The use of solar power system is cost efficient, but its sustainability is a challenge. Aside from several environmental concerns like disposal of used panels, its applicability in the region is also limited, (the) potential of the system is under maximize in some areas,” explained CDPC Executive Director Julie Mero.
Social consideration also stresses that “these should be community-led, where benefits and challenges are discussed thoroughly with the residents, and based on their capacity to manage.”
There is a growing concern about global waste disposal from solar power systems, with experts projecting a “waste mountain” of these materials by 2015. Solar panels have an average life span of about 25 years.
Indigenous peoples and human rights groups have raised concerns over the cost of mining transition minerals, which include copper and nickel. Recent reports from Global Witness and Amnesty International have documented widespread rights violations and ecological disruption in pursuit of these minerals in the country.
Meanwhile, the government’s renewable energy framework is cautious about solar power investment because of the prevailing weather patterns in the region of the long rainy season and thick cloud cover in many areas. There are also terrain considerations in terms of investing in large-scale generation.
Ways forward
From the perspective of indigenous peoples, Halip said the government should shift its mindset from “a very private sector centric” to recognizing that indigenous communities “have the agency and capacity to lead the country into a truly just, equitable, and sustainable energy transition.”
“It is important that the legal framework is in place supporting the establishment and operation of community-based renewable energy initiatives. The (Payment for Ecosystem Services) is also important in terms of supporting community-based initiatives as this is also supporting not also the energy and livelihood needs of the community but also their natural resource management practices,” she added.
Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), as defined by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), involves deliberate agreements where beneficiaries compensate providers for sustaining ecosystem services. This aims to align public and private sector investments with conservation and development goals by ensuring informed transactions that promote sustainable resource use.
For ICSC, run-of-river hydropower systems, “which operate without significantly disrupting river and watershed ecosystems,” as more viable than large dams.
“Small-scale, decentralized systems like run-of-river hydropower, microgrids, and community-led solar and wind projects offer a pathway to clean energy that respects the region’s unique challenges and opportunities,” the institute said.
Recognizing the vulnerability of all renewable energy sources to climate change, ICSC emphasizes diversifying energy sources, integrating storage, and enhancing grid flexibility to reduce risks and strengthen sustainability.
“From a sustainability perspective, the resilience of energy sources to climate change impacts is a complex issue, as these impacts are inherently uncertain. Given this uncertainty, diversification of energy sources and investment are key strategies for building resilience,” the group explained.
𝙍𝙚𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙄𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙩𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝘾𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝘾𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙅𝙖𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙀𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝙆𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙖 𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙁𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥., 𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝘾𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙪.
