Pasay nixes Meralco’s bid for lines to light NAIA 3

As if the security issue raised by the national government is not enough, the spanking Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 faces yet another problem. This after the Pasay City council Committees on Patrimony, Land Use, and Zoning, and Engineering and Public Works denied last Tuesday the application of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) for location clearance to put up transmission lines that would be the main source of electricity of the new airport.

In denying Meralco’s application, the committees primarily took into consideration the possible hazardous effects of the electromagnetic field (Emf) emissions to the health of the residents, Councilor Allan Panaligan told reporters yesterday, Panaligan chairs both committees.

Meralco applied for clearance to install the 115-kilovolt transmission lines along 12th St., Airmen’s Village, Barangay 183. However, residents opposed the installation of the transmission lines along their street, citing international studies obtained from the Internet that said Emf emissions could cause diseases such as cancer and impotence.

Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. (PIATCO) spokesperson Moises Tolentino told The STAR in a phone interview that the committees’ decision "would definitely affect" the new airport. "We are (currently) getting our power from a regular transmission line and there are times when the power would fluctuate. This is the reason why we need independent transmission lines," he said.

Tolentino said PIATCO would definitely "appeal this thing (before the committees) for the greater good." He added that residents have "no real basis for their apprehensions over the transmission lines." Nevertheless, Tolentino said PIATCO, the private operator of the NAIA 3, would look at the "alternatives and what measures to take" to have transmission lines dedicated mainly to the new terminal.

The committees held public hearings on Meralco’s application for at least eight months, starting last March.

The three-page joint committee report noted that last April, Director Agnette Peralta of the Department of Health’s (DOH) Bureau of Health Devices and Technology did not recommend that the project be stopped due to the alleged health effects of Emf emissions.

"In view of the latest available scientific data and because the measured magnetic field level for similar Meralco 115 kv electric power lines comply with existing ICNIRP currently cannot recommend stopping of the project due to health effects," the report quoted Peralta. The DOH official also said at public hearing last April 6 that Emf emissions "cannot only be derived from transmission lines but also from other electrical household devices such as washing machines, hair dryers, microwave ovens, etc."