25. BINUKDEW BENGUET DAMS PE

BINUKDEW BENGUET DAMS PEZA

Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano

23 March 2017

Travelling the long and winding but completely paved Benguet-Nueva Vizcaya Road also known as the Baguio-Aritao Road (113.3 kilometers; Philippine highway network route sign N110) surely makes the young, the middle aged and the old dizzy because of its unending sharp curves. We entered this secondary road from Bambang town center in Nueva Vizcaya province since it is closer to Isabela than the Aritao entrance. We passed by Barangay Salinas where the famous Salinas Salts Springs is located, reached Kayapa town proper and made our first stop at the junction in Barangay Gurel, Bokod in Benguet province leading to the country’s third and Luzon’s highest peak, Mt. Pulag (2,922 meters) with its highest point located within the tri-boundary of the provinces of Benguet, Ifugao and Nueva Vizcaya. This zigzag road offers a spectacular view of the Ambuklao and Binga Dams. I posed for posterity at the view deck in Barangay Ambuklao with the majestic dam at my background.

Ambuklao Dam is part of a hydroelectric facility in Bokod. The development of the Agno River for purposes of hydroelectric power generation, flood control, and irrigation had been conceived as early as the late 1940s. Preliminary investigations for development at Ambuklao and Binga Dam sites were undertaken as early as January 1948. With maximum water storage capacity of 327,170,000 cubic meters, the facility, which is located 36 kilometers from Baguio City, can produce up to 105 megawatts of electricity to Luzon grid. The main source of water comes from the Agno River which originates from Mt. Data. The dam and other non-power components are owned by the government through the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR). The Ambuklao Hydroelectric Power Plant is one of the oldest power plants in the country and was among the first large hydroelectric power plants constructed in the Philippines. In July 1990, a massive earthquake hit Luzon, resulting in siltation and technical problems that affected the plant’s operations. Ambuklao was eventually decommissioned in 1999. SN Aboitiz Power-Benguet, Inc. (SNAP-Benguet) won on November 28, 2007 the public bid for Ambuklao and its neighboring power facility Binga, which were sold as a package under the power sector privatization program of the Philippine government. SNAP-Benguet began a massive rehabilitation project that restored Ambuklao to operating status and increased its capacity from 75 MW to 105 MW. Ambuklao was formally inaugurated in October 2011. Ambuklao is designed as a peaking plant and is capable of delivering energy and providing ancillary services needed to stabilize the grid.

Binga Dam, on the other hand, connected to a hydroelectric power plant situated at Barrio Binga and Barangay Tinongdan in the municipality of Itogon in Benguet. The dam was constructed in August 1956 and opened in May 1960, three years after its sister facility Ambuklao Dam. It is located 31 kilometres southeast of Baguio City and 19 kilometres downstream of Ambuklao Dam. Improvement of the dam is ongoing for it had received heavy damage during the 1990 Luzon earthquake, and its installed capacity of 100 MW is being upgraded to 140MW.

We reached Newtown Plaza Hotel at Leonard Wood corner C.M. Recto Road in Baguio City where the 2017 Luzon Ecozone Summit spearheaded by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is held which I am a participant. Again with the assistance of Google, it revealed that the PEZA, a government agency attached to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was created on February 21, 1995 by virtue of Republic Act 7916 signed by President Fidel V. Ramos to help promote investments in the export-oriented manufacturing industry into the country by assisting investors in registering and facilitating their business operations and providing tax incentives. PEZA also assists investors who locate in service facilities inside selected areas in the country (Special Economic Zones) which are usually business process outsourcing and knowledge process outsourcing firms. Other activities also eligible for PEZA registration and incentives include establishment and operation within special economic zones for tourism, medical tourism, logistics and warehousing services, economic zone development and operation and facilities providers. Republic Act 7916 is also known as Special Economic Zone Act.

When I went back to my room at the eight floor, my curiosity nagged me again and started surfing the net. Jose Solano’s itsmorefuninambuklao.weebly.com scribbled how Ambuklao got its name and an old legend supported the etymology of Ambuklao. Long time ago, there lived an old man named Tayambong in a place called Marishim in the Cordilleras where the only route to Baguio was located. A wide river cuts the route leading to Baguio. The other bank of the river was called Dupete where the continuation of the route is situated. Before one crosses the river, travellers normally ask the old man how deep is the water. If the water is neck deep, Tayambong would answer "Jo Binukdew". If the water is knee high or shallow, he would respond “Jo Pinuweg”.

One time, there were four Kalanguyas bound for Baguio and they asked the old man how deep is the river. He answered “Jo Pinuweg” and the Kalanguyas crossed being assured that they were safe. Tragically, all four drowned because the river was not shallow but was deep and dangerous at that time. Only the pasikings (backpacks) of the four ill-fated natives were found floating. To immortalize the tragic event, the locals called the area "Ambukdew" an Ibaloi term connected with the old man's word "binukdew”. The Kalanguyas; however, pronounced it as "Ambuklaw", changing letter "D" to "L" and letter "E" to "A". The name later evolved to “Ambuklao” for the Tagalogs and "Ambuclao" for the Americans.

Today, the upstream of the mighty Agno River in the area now known as Ambuklao is not as risky compared during olden times due to the controlled flow and gush of water brought about by the establishment of the dam system. But the full operation of the 365 special economic zones continuous to flood the metropolis and the countryside through the intervention of PEZA which would result to economic prosperity of our country in this millennium.