ILOILO CITY, Philippines—A militant lawmaker sought an investigation of a $405-million coal power plant being built here after residents pointed to the facility as source of foul odor blamed for sickness in some communities.
Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares said he would file a resolution asking Congress to investigate the coal plant of the Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) in Barangay Ingore in La Paz District, Iloilo City.
“There are serious questions that have not been answered. We should get to the bottom of this because lives are at stake,” Colmenares said.
Residents of Barangay Ingore last month complained of emissions that smelled like burnt rubber during a test run of the plant’s steam blower facility. Several residents, mostly children, sought medical treatment after being stricken ill.
But the PEDC said its facility was not responsible for the emissions.
PEDC, a unit of the Metrobank-subsidiary Global Business Power Corp. (GBPC), is building a 164-megawatt coal plant in Barangay Ingore. The plant is scheduled to go online by December 30.
The company has scheduled another test run on October 14 to determine if the steam blower facility was responsible for the emissions.
But Colmenares, who met with residents and officials of Barangay Ingore on Monday, said the credibility of the results of the second test would be questionable until questions surrounding the first test were answered.
“A successful second test will not prove that the foul-smelling emissions last month did not come from their facility,” said the congressman.
Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares said he would file a resolution asking Congress to investigate the coal plant of the Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) in Barangay Ingore in La Paz District, Iloilo City.
“There are serious questions that have not been answered. We should get to the bottom of this because lives are at stake,” Colmenares said.
Residents of Barangay Ingore last month complained of emissions that smelled like burnt rubber during a test run of the plant’s steam blower facility. Several residents, mostly children, sought medical treatment after being stricken ill.
But the PEDC said its facility was not responsible for the emissions.
PEDC, a unit of the Metrobank-subsidiary Global Business Power Corp. (GBPC), is building a 164-megawatt coal plant in Barangay Ingore. The plant is scheduled to go online by December 30.
The company has scheduled another test run on October 14 to determine if the steam blower facility was responsible for the emissions.
But Colmenares, who met with residents and officials of Barangay Ingore on Monday, said the credibility of the results of the second test would be questionable until questions surrounding the first test were answered.
“A successful second test will not prove that the foul-smelling emissions last month did not come from their facility,” said the congressman.
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