Group pledges continued fight vs coal power plants

CEBU, Philippines - Environmental advocates here vowed to continue fighting moves to open more coal-fired power plants in Cebu province, saying the facility will not only affect immediate communities but the whole world at large.

“We must continue our resolve in our fight against coal… if we allow another coal power plant to be built in Cebu, then we are allowing more to be built in the country. That is the reason we do not allow any coal power plant to be built here in Cebu City or in Cebu province because it contributes a tremendous impact to our country and even in other parts of the world,” said Ben Muni, climate and energy campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

The group was successful in lobbying against the proposed coal-fired power plant in Barangay Sawang Calero, Cebu City just recently.

“What happened here in Cebu is something that all Cebuanos should be proud of because what happened here is one of the most important battles for climate change in the Philippines. And it’s not just the country that is watching but the whole world,” Muni said.

“Your win is not just the win of the people in Cebu but it’s also a win for all Filipino people and the win of the Filipino people inspired other battle against coal in the many parts of the world,” he added.

Muni was one of the panelists in a dialogue with residents living near power plants during a gathering at the University of San Jose - Recoletos yesterday to mark the 10th year anniversary of the groundbreaking documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth.”

The documentary presents the campaign of former US vice president Al Gore in raising awareness of the dangers of global warming and initiating calls for immediate action to curb its destructive effects to the environment.

Muni said the challenge of local groups is to ensure threats to nature, such as coal-fired power plants, do not mushroom in their areas.

Cebu province is now host to two coal-fired thermal power plants: Korea Electric Power Corporation-SPC Power Corporation’s plant in Naga City and Global Business Power Corporation in Toledo City. Presently, Therma Visayas Inc. started recently the construction of the 340-megawatt (MW) thermal power plant also in Toledo City.

Today, the group will join a walk from Naga City (near Kepco SPC Power Corp.) to Cebu City (near LUDO & LUYM Corp).

Yesterday’s activity was organized by The Climate Reality Project Philippines in partnership with different entities such as the DAKILA, Pusyon Kinaiyahan, and the University of San Jose-Recoletos. — (FREEMAN)