The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The Aetas of Pastolan in Subic Bay Freeport recently ratified the expansion of the wind- and solar-energy projects in their ancestral land as part of their commitment to sustainable development.
“We are helping each other by moving forward with our plans for the preservation of the environment for the sake of future generations,” said Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Roberto V. Garcia.
SBMA, through Emerging Power Inc. (EPI), a renewable-energy firm, will allocate $200 million for its renewable-energy project, which will cover 800 hectares in Mount Sta. Rita, a Pastolan ancestral land, in compliance with the Joint Management Agreement (JMA) signed and witnessed on October 10, 2013, by SBMA, the Pastolan Tribal Council, and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).
The project will generate 150-megawatts of renewable energy.
The JMA was signed to protect and preserve the rights of Aetas, along with the implementation of socioeconomic and cultural development programs by SBMA.
“We are proud that the Pastolan Aetas have been very supportive in achieving this milestone.
This partnership is a shining example of how the preservation of heritage and sustainable development can work together without being compromised,” the SBMA top executive said.
The groundbreaking of the wind and solar power farm, which took place last October, signaled EPI’s establishment of what would be the biggest facility of its kind in Southeast Asia. Garcia assures that the Pastolan Aetas will benefit from this expansion, as well as the turnover of a P14.8-million check to them as payment for lease rentals by the locators within the ancestral domain.
“We are giving priority to the Aetas as far as hiring for the construction of more solar and wind power plants is concerned.
The welfare of our indigenous brothers will always be important to us,” he said. The expansion is a collaborative action of SBMA and indigenous peoples to uphold Republic Act 9513 (Renewable Energy Act of 2008) by investing in renewable-energy projects.
This also serves as their support to the Philippines’s 2015 Paris Climate Conference committment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.