Davao City councilor Pilar Braga defended the outcome of the City Council voting on the controversial coal-fired power plant which resulted in the overwhelming approval of the application for a P25-billion power investment project of Aboitiz Power.
“As far as I know the City Council was aboveboard,” said Braga who chairs the Council’s committee on energy. Last June 7, the Council voted 23-1 in favor of the committee report approving the construction of a 350-megawatt coal-powered plant in Barangay Binugao in the southern part of the city.
“We went over it, it went through the process, we studied all positions, and to the best of our judgment, the best of our moral judgment, we believe that we came out with the best decision,” Braga said.
The lone dissenting councilor, Leah Librado, cited the possible negative and harmful environmental impact brought about by coal-fired power plants.
Braga said the compelling reason for the approval of such a plant was the need for more power in the region.
Reacting to claims of oppositors that there was no energy audit to firmly back-up the necessity of the putting up of the plant. Braga said even if there was an energy audit the results would still be the same, the region particularly Davao City is facing an impending power shortage.
“The Department of Energy had been saying many years back that there is a looming power crisis. Why should we not believe the DOE?” Braga asked.
She admitted feeling happy that the load had been taken off their backs after having sleepless nights in extensively studying the pros and cons of the project.
Last March, neighboring Sta. Cruz municipality (Davao del Sur), one of whose barangays will host a portion of the power plant, approved its construction, citing the economic benefits to be derived from the power investment.
After the city council’s June 7 voting, the Network Opposed to Coal slammed the councilors’ “lame excuse” for their yes votes.
“It is utterly unacceptable that majority of our councilors voted ‘yes’ for coal simply because the project is better constructed here than elsewhere for easy monitoring. This is baloney! Is Davao City seriously prepared to monitor Aboitiz’s coal mess?” asked Dr. Jean Lindo, convenor of the Network Opposed To Coal (No To Coal).
“We doubt that a subsequent multipartite monitoring team will be truly transparent, given that the City Council did not even validate the genuine stand of the community residents in the coal plant site,” said Lindo.
Environmental advocate Francis Morales, secretary general of PANALIPDAN – Southern Mindanao summed up the Council’s move by saying that “The councilors merely relied on the lies peddled by Aboitiz. They swallowed it all: hook, line and sinker. There was no reliable energy audit, full blown environmental and health impact assessment, resource valuation, habitat assessment and reliable health baseline study.”
Lindo also expressed dismay over the 23 to 1 vote on the coal issue.
“Twenty-three councilors out of 24 voted yes to the coal-fired power plant. Under normal circumstances where a healthy discursive democracy exists, this is not statistically probable. This is unbelievably skewed and indicates pathology. Aboitiz Power may be waving their newly acquired license to pollute the city. The struggle for our right to a healthy environment continues,” Lindo said.
Councilor Leah Librado, the only one who voted “no” on grounds of environment and health hazards that the coal plant poses, adamantly said, “We cannot commensurate to the possible monetary gains the city will get from coal.”
“We laud Councilor Librado for taking this courageous No-vote. Now the people know who their one and only councilor is. Librado dared not compromise the future of the next generation despite the pressure of being the one and only oppositor in the chamber. She deserves our green vote next election,while the others belong to the dustbin of history,” said Dr. Lindo.
No To Coal also said the lies about clean coal technology and energy crisis myth have been well-exposed by the anti-coal experts and advocates in the past committee hearings, but they said they are dismayed that the committee report of Braga failed to expound on their strongest arguments against coal.
“Experts and established universities in advanced countries have studies debunking the clean coal myth. The US, UK, Sabah Indonesia, and Germany are now decreasing their use of coal as energy source because of coal’s undeniable impact on health and environment. The most advanced countries are now shifting towards Renewable Energy,” said Morales. [PIA 11 and PR]
