LATHALAIN
Seeks help from ‘kindred souls’ in Manila
Coalition opposes coal-fired power
plant in Misamis Oriental
By Alfred A. Araya Jr.
© CyberDyaryo, November 27, 2002

THE PHILIPPINE Government has joined a global commitment for a reduction in the use of fossil fuels especially coal, and an increase in the use of renewable energy sources to arrest global warming.

According to Joel Salvador of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the government is committed to an annual 10 per cent increase in the use of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. In addition, he said, the Department of Energy has programs to promote renewable energy sources in its plan for 2003.

But while the DENR talks of reducing the country’s dependence on fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy sources, a new coal-fired power plant to be put up in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental has been given the go-signal by government.

Indeed, there seem to be something amiss with the government’s policy on the environment, said environmentalists who attended the Kamayan para sa Kalikasan forum organized by the Communicators’ League for Environmental Action and Restoration (CLEAR) and Sanib-Lakas ng Inang Kalikasan (SALIKA) last November 15 at the Kamayan Restaurant in San Juan, Metro Manila.

At the forum, BenCyrus Ellorin, an environmental activist from Cagayan de Oro City, appealed to "kindred souls in Manila", referring to representatives of various Manila-based environmental groups as well as advocates and individuals at the forum, to help oppose the planned coal-fired power plant on Misamis Oriental.

Ellorin is the spokesperson of Task Force Macajalar (TFM), convenor of a broad coalition of some 100 people’s organizations called People’s CAMP (People’s Campaign Against the Mindanao Coal-fired Plant) that has been leading the opposition in Cagayan de Oro City and Misamis Oriental.

The other convenors are the Villanueva-Tagoloan Farmers Association (VTFA) and the Misamis Oriental Farmers Association (MOFA).

‘A Long-Drawn Struggle’
The coalition, Ellorin said, is "getting ready for a long-drawn struggle", as the 210-mw Mindanao Coal-fired Thermal Plant is being "rammed down our throats". The project, the 34th contract signed by the Ramos administration with independent power producers (IPP), is to be built on the 55-hectare Philippine Veterans Development Corp. (Phividec) Industrial Estate in Villanueva town.

The State Power Development Corporation (SPDC), a subsidiary of the State Investment and Trust Incorporated (SITI), won the international bidding on the coal-fired power plant project in 1995 with its foreign partner, Germany's STEAG-AG.

In 1998, SPDC entered a contract with the state-owned National Power Corporation (Napocor), which was to start in 2000.

Ellorin, however, lamented that prior to this, "only people in Manila" made the decisions and that the communities that would be affected by the project were not consulted. He said that some 1,000 families will be displaced by the project.

Consultations an ‘Afterthought’
Ellorin said the consultations required by the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Law which requires project proponents to consult affected communities before the project is given the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) came only as an "afterthought".

"To us, it was a zarzuela (farce)," he told CyberDyaryo. "People who the proponents said were consulted are the same people who are now against the project."

Earlier, the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro issued a statement opposing the planned coal-fired power plant saying that development should not be pushed at the expense of lives and the environment.

"What for are development and cheap electricity if there is no one to enjoy them, or if our people cannot pay their electricity bills because they have to buy medicines for sickness caused by the plant? Shall we sacrifice humanity—our own selves, our children, our earth—at the altar of profit and perhaps death?" Archbishop Jesus Tuquib asked in the statement.

Other Alleged Irregularities
Besides the danger posed by the planned coal-fired power plant to the health of the residents of the surrounding areas, the project is also plagued with other alleged irregularities.

First, the Project Evaluation Review made by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Region 10 for the Regional Development Council (RDC) issued the opinion last June that the project is not economically and financially viable, and may require a subsidy from government of P530 million a year for 25 years.

Second, findings of the IPP Review Committee in July showed that the project is one of the 11 onerous IPP contracts signed during the Ramos administration that have "unresolved financial issues."

Ellorin said, however, that these were ignored by the "decision makers," referring to the RDC and the DENR. The former endorsed the project while the latter has given the project its "go-signal".

A check with the DENR’s Environmental Impact Assessment Division of the Environment Management Bureau central office—the body that issues ECC permits—confirmed that an ECC was issued to the project on Oct. 30.

In May, the proponents, the SPDC and its German partner STEAG AG, sponsored a trip to Germany for some local government officials who toured the German firm’s power plants. The same offer was made to members of the media but they declined.

‘Our People Are Getting Desperate’
"Our people there are getting desperate. Nobody is listening to us," Ellorin told the forum.

He added, "While [government] is talking of promoting renewable sources of energy, it is ramming this coal-fired plant down our throats."

The country relies heavily on coal, oil and gas for its power plants.

The forum participants asked Salvador if the DENR knows if existing coal-fired power plants are complying with clean air standards. He replied that a task force conducted tests in September, in response to an issue raised by the environmental group Greenpeace regarding the compliance rate of coal-fired plants on emission standards set by law.

However, he said that the DENR could not yet say whether coal-fired plants are complying with emission standards, as it is still waiting for the analysis of some parameters by the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) to complete the report.

Salvador explained that the department had to ask help from the PNRI because DENR does not have the equipment needed for the analysis for some of the parameters, particularly those involving heavy metals.

But as far as the other parameters, particularly on water quality and "some air quality," which the DENR had sampled and analyzed, Salvador said, "they (coal-fired power plants) are complying…and within the standards set by the Clean Air Act."

"So in the meantime (while still waiting for the results), how safe are we?" asked CLEAR president Vic Milan.

But the Kamayan forum already had the answer to Milan’s question. As BenCyrus Ellorin put it, "The question here is not whether coal is clean or not, because it is not clean. We’re just fooling ourselves if we continue debating on that."  -- CyberDyaryo

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