HIPHOP converts PHP code to C ++ code, which must be compiled to run. Since precompiled code runs faster and uses less memory, and then scriping languages like python / php, it will probably work faster in the example you specified.
However, HIPHOP does not convert all code. A lot of code in php is dynamic and cannot be changed in C ++, which means that you have to write your code with this in mind. If codeigniter can even be compiled using HIPHOP, this is another question.
Terry Chai wrote a great article about HIPHOP, telling when to use it, its limitations and future. I would recount this as it will most likely answer most of your questions and give you some idea of how this works :)
http://terrychay.com/article/hiphop-for-faster-php.shtml
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