Statement – CARE condemns dispersal of Greenpeace in Masinloc

The Cebu Alliance for Renewable Energy calls on concerned Government agencies to conduct a thorough investigation regarding the violent dispersal that happen in Masinloc Coal-Fired Power Plant owned by the Philippine Government.

"The perpetrators should be penalized in the highest level, it is a shame how barbaric and uncivilized these personnel of toxic power plant can get"

At 8 in the morning Greenpeace activists attempted to stage a peaceful protest at the Masinloc coal plant. Plant personnel led by the chief of security turned extremely violent, threw large rocks, fired an armalite and beat up the activists who were of different nationalities. A German Greenpeace volunteer, Jens Lowe, was punched and kicked repeatedly and while already lying immobile on the ground was slammed numerous times with a crow bar.

"There is also a need that a chemical analysis be conducted to the perpetrators, their minds may have been gravely affected by the toxics spewed daily by the power plant. This could also be used as a test case how these toxics can affect people's ability to decide and go berserk without provocation."

The Masinloc Coal-fired Power Plant operated by the National Power Corporation is one of the dirtiest coal plants operating in the country. According to a recently released Greenpeace study, ash samples from the 600-mw Masinloc Coal Plant were found positive for Mercury, a highly toxic pollutant that affects the nervous system of humans and animals, known carcinogens Arsenic, Chromium and Lead.

The said plant also burdens the community and the environment with its enormous external cost. Based on Greenpeace computation using the formula developed by the European Commission, the external cost of the 600-megawatt coal plant ranges from a low of P6.3-billion to a high of P22.1-billion.

According to a European Commission study external cost arise when the social or economic activities of, say, a power station, have an impact on a set of people and when that impact is not fully accounted, or compensated for, by the power plant. Environmental cost are "externalized" because, although they are real cost to members of society, the owner of the power station is not taking them into account when making decisions related to its economic activities.

Reference:

Vince Cinches
Coordinator
Cebu Alliance for Renewable Energy

Red Constantino
Regional Energy Campaigner
Greenpeace in Southeast Asia