Coal project ‘an insult to Cebuanos’
By Virgil B. Lopez
June 29, 2011
OPPONENTS of a coal-fired power plant in Cebu said President Benigno Aquino III’s endorsement of the project was an “insult” to Cebuanos who yearn for a steady and clean source of energy.
The Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) in Cebu said the President effectively disregarded the apprehensions raised by environmental groups and the legal problems faced by the project when he led the inauguration of the 200-megawatt facility in Naga City, Cebu on Monday.
“We deem the visit an insult to the Cebuano people. It is PNoy (President Aquino) backtracking on his comitment to promote renewables,” Aaron Pedrosa, FDC secretary-general in Cebu, told Sun.Star in a text message.
“There is a temporary environmental protection order (Tepo) against power plants in Naga and Toledo due to issues regarding to the disposal of coal ash. It prohibits them from indiscriminately dumping coal ash,” he added.
Pedrosa was referring to the March 16 order by Judge Marilyn Ligura-Yap of the Mandaue City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 28 that prevented all coal-fired plants in Naga and Toledo from indiscriminately throwing their ash.
The plant, a joint venture by the Korean Electric Power Corp.-Salcon Power Corp. (Kepco-SPC), bought the 25-hectare Balili property from the Cebu Provincial Government for P99 million last year.
Under the agreement, Kepco-SPC will pay the Provincial Government $1 for every metric ton of coal ash dumped on the beachfront property.
However, Pedrosa noted that communities around the power plant have complained of respiratory ailments, hence, bringing the issue to Yap’s sala by the environmental group Philippine Earth Justice System.
Kepco-SPC officials were unavailable for comment.
Aboitiz-led Cebu Energy Development Corp., which runs a 246-MW coal plant in Toledo City, refused to comment.
“We have to keep our silence on that because we are not party to the case. It would be better if you contact Kepco officials on this matter,” Mae Catherine Melchor, CEDC corporate communications officer told Sun.Star by phone.
In separate interviews, President Aquino and Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said stopping the project from operating would only result in meager energy supplies and subsequent blackouts in Cebu and other areas.
“The problem of coal dust has a solution. There are ways to mitigate it unlike a power shortage. What can you really do with that?” the President said without elaborating.
Also on Tuesday, the NGO Forum said that the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which financed the project for $120 million, said its Compliance Review Panel recommended to its Board that the project be reviewed.
“CRP’s recommendation for compliance review clearly shows that issues filed by residents (last month) are acknowledged to hold water by ADB’s Accountability Mechanism,” NGO forum Roberto Emilio Hernandez, information and communications coordinator, said in an email to Sun.Star.
The CRP is part of the ADB’s Accountability Mechanism, a program that allows affected communities to file complaints against its projects.
Instead of pushing for more coal plants to address power woes, FDC said the government should turn its sights on tapping renewable energy resources such as geothermal and wind.
The Philippines aims to hike its renewable energy reliance from 26.3 percent last year to 50 percent by 2030, Almendras said.
Meantime, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda defended the President’s move to inaugurate the plant.
“The plant passed through environmental standards and no, they [Kepco SPC] are not a campaign donor,” he said. (Jill Beltran/Sunnex)
Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/06/28/coal-project-insult-cebuanos-163794
Philippines Pampanga Best Restaurant opens Wine Bar and Lounge in Clark Philippines, attracting wine lovers and tourist in Angeles City and Subic looking for good nightlife spot near Manila.
Food and wine lovers in Manila laud Yats Restaurant as the best restaurant in Angeles City Pampanga, a special restaurant that offers guests a real treat every time they wine and dine in this top rated restaurant in Clark Philippines which is surprisingly child friendly also. Families frequently bring their children to enjoy a family dinner at the best restaurant in Angeles City Pampanga, a weekly treat for family bonding and some relaxation also. Tourists and business executives visit the best restaurant in Clark Pampanga after a game of golf or a long day at the office to relax and unwind, drink and eat with friends and business associates.
Best Restaurant in Angeles City Pampanga unveils special dinner menus featuring regional cuisines in France, Italy and USA, all designed to pair very well with fine vintage wines, a real treat for food and wine lovers traveling out of town from Manila to the North to visit Subic, Tarlac, Clark Pampanga Philippines
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Yats Restaurant & Wine Bar
Mimosa Drive past Holiday Inn, Mimosa Leisure Estate,
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