CoRe, PMCJ: ‘The
Climate Walk is just the beginning’
ILIGAN
CITY - Graced by different local and national media outlets, the Coal
Resistance Movement together with the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice
formally ended the 92-kilometer climate walk through a Press Conference held on
July 25 at Iligan city.
With
representatives coming from different participating organizations composing the
Coal Resistance Movement and the Philippine Movement for Climate
Justice-Western Mindanao, each spoke in front of the media to express their vehement
opposition against the surge of coal projects throughout the country especially
in Mindanao.
“Not
all legal is moral”, says Atty. Jennifer Ramos, counsel representative of
Ozamiz-based NGO Gitib, as she questions the moral implications of the approval
of coal-fired power plants by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
No PH Law that
prohibits coal plants
The
Environmental Management Bureau Region 10, national authority responsible for pollution prevention and control, and
environmental impact assessment, already stressed during a previous
interview that there is no law in the Philippines that prohibits coal-powered
projects.
“As
long as the investors meet the standards and requirements then I have no
reason to deny their application”, says Region X EMB Director Sabdullah Abubacar
Director
Abubacar is also the chairman of the Multipartite Monitoring Team (MMT) of the
540 MW coal plant in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte owned by Ayala-affiliated GNPower
Ltd. Corporation that oversees the compliance and the conditions set by the Environmental
Compliance Certificate.
Series of Campaigns
“The climate walk is just the beginning of a series of
massive campaigns that the Coal Resistance Movement and the Philippine Movement
for Climate Justice will put up to show the growing consciousness of people
in terms of climate issues”, says CoRe Movement representative Mark
Mandar.
During the press conference, the ‘1-Million Signature
Campaign’ was also launched headed by Atty. Aaron Pedrosa of the Energy Group
of PMCJ-Western Mindanao.
Last ‘whistle stop’
Last
July 24, the 300 climate walkers, armed only with banners and facemasks that
says 'Coal Kills', dramatized their opposition of coal-fired power plants in
front of the French-owned LaFarge Cement where another 20 MW coal-fired power
project will be built by the same company.
The
protest in Kiwalan marked the end of the 92-kilometer climate walk and coal
resistance march which lasted seven (7) days starting in Lala, Lanao del Norte
on July 19.
Prior
to the LaFarge protest the walkers also staged their opposition at the Iligan
City Hall on the same day where members of the city executive and legislative
received the demand letters of the walkers containing their vehement opposition
against the proliferation of coal-fired power plants throughout the country
especially in Northern Mindanao.
Currently,
Northern Mindanao has three coal plants underway: the 300 MW coal plant in
Ozamiz city by Ozamiz Power Generation Incorporated; the 20 MW coal plant in
Kiwalan, Iligan city by LaFarge Cement and; the 540 MW coal plant in Kauswagan,
Lanao del Norte, the biggest in Mindanao set to be fully operational by 2017.
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