THE National Commission on Indigenous Peoples’ (NCIP) office in the Cordillera Administrative Region has told the subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corp. to stop the operations of the three run-ofriver hydropower plants in Bakun, Benguet.

In a disclosure on Wednesday, Aboitiz Power said the issuance of a cease-and-desist order (CDO) to unit Hedcor stemmed from the “alleged irregularities” regarding the free prior informed consent-memorandum of agreement (FPIC-MoA) between the company and the Bakun Indigenous Tribes Organization.

The accord was signed on Oct. 15, 2019. The CDO stated Lower Labay Hydro, FLS Hydro, and Lon-oy Hydroshall cease operations five days after receipt of the said order.

Amid the shutdown of its Bakun operations, Hedcor said it will continue to actively reach out to the community for dialogue or the customary tongtongan between the company and the Bakun indigenous people, with the guidance of NCIP.

“We believe we have been compliant with all the requirements during the course of the FPIC application process, and have been waiting for the issuance of the Certificate Precondition since the FPIC-MoA was signed,” said Noreen Vicencio, Hedcor vice president for corporate services.

“The CDO will not just affect Hedcor, but also the customers and communities we serve. At this time of a red alert situation in the Luzon grid, the continued operation of our plants is very crucial,” added Vicencio.

The listed firm said it is still looking forward to providing the benefits the Bakun community is currently receiving from the generation of the plants.

“Non-operation of the Bakun plants, however, means the community shares and ER 1-94 (Energy Regulation 1-94) funds will neither accrue nor accumulate,” it added.

Aboitiz Power shares fell by 25 centavos or 1 percent to close at P24.65 each on Wednesday.