Question & AnswerQ&A (DEPARTMENT CIRCULAR NO. DC2018-03-0005)
All legitimate and bona fide ICCs/IPs duly recognized and accredited by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and issued with a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title that host the generating facilities and/or energy resources are entitled to the financial benefits under the ER No. 1-94 Program.
Ancestral Domains refer to all areas belonging to ICCs/IPs including lands, inland waters, coastal areas, and natural resources therein, which have been possessed communally or individually since time immemorial, and includes ancestral lands, forests, pasture, residential, agricultural and other lands, hunting grounds, burial grounds, worship areas, bodies of water, minerals, and other natural resources necessary to ensure their economic, social, and cultural welfare.
Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) means the consensus of all members of the ICCs/IPs, determined according to their customary laws and practices, free from external manipulation, interference, or coercion, obtained after fully disclosing the intent and scope of the activity in a language and process understandable to the community.
For non-highly urbanized cities, the 25% share each for Development and Livelihood Fund and Reforestation, Watershed Management, Health, and Environment Enhancement Fund are distributed as follows: 5% designated resettlement area, 20% host barangay, 35% host municipalities, 30% host provinces, 5% host region, and 5% host organized ICCs/IPs. For highly urbanized cities, the allocation is: 10% designated resettlement area, 30% host barangays, 55% host cities, and 5% host organized ICCs/IPs.
Project proposals and work programs endorsed by the host ICCs/IPs must be endorsed by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) before submission to the Department of Energy (DOE) for approval and implementation.
The Department of Energy (DOE) will defer the release of funds for subsequently approved projects and may take appropriate reasonable measures consistent with government rules and regulations until the host communities or project implementers justify the disbursement of funds to the DOE or the deputized/resident auditor of the Commission on Audit (COA).
The Department of Energy (DOE) has jurisdiction over conflicts or disputes arising from the implementation of these guidelines. If there are jurisdictional or boundary disputes, these shall be resolved amicably among the stakeholders or referred to the NCIP, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for dispute resolution.
The DOE, through the Electric Power Industry Management Bureau, must issue an Administrative Operating Guidelines for the availment and utilization of the financial benefits by the ICCs/IPs pursuant to the amendments provided in the Circular.
These guidelines took effect on the fifteenth (15th) day after their publication in two newspapers of general circulation.