Group hits coal firm’s land reclamation in Masinloc, Zambales

By Jonathan L. Mayuga - March 22, 2018

https://businessmirror.com.ph/group-hits-coal-firms-land-reclamation-in-masinloc-zambales/

RESIDENTS of Masinloc, Zambales are up in arms over the alleged land-reclamation activities of AES Corp., the operator of the Masinloc Coal-Fired Power Plant (MCPP) that led to the massive destruction of coral reefs.

In a statement, members of Oyon Bay Protector (OBP) claimed coral reefs were destroyed because of the construction of a $1-billion expansion of AES Corp. to double the existing 600-megawatt (MW) capacity of the power plant.

The group wrote a letter to Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu to air their grievance.

The group said the power-plant operator has so far reclaimed close to a 1-hectare portion of coastal areas, including that, of a locally managed protected area using two dredging barges and earth-moving equipment.

The construction of the additional 300-MW coal plant was started sometime in 2015 and is expected to go online during the last quarter of this year.

“The unauthorized massive reclamation activities of MCPP in Masinloc town must be stopped immediately, since they violated several provisions of the national integrated protected areas system Act of 1992,” said Joey Marabe, OBP Adhoc chairman.

A survey in the area conducted last month by Zambales acting Provincial Environment and Natural Resource Officer Laudemir Salac revealed that MCPP’s power plant also encroached inside the protected area without the knowledge of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the municipal government, Marabe said.

The MCPP’s use of dredging barges and other equipment within the protected area was also without permits, as discovered by national and local government agencies, Marabe added.

The plant is in a 137-hectare lot in the Mango Capital town of Masinloc, province of Zambales, about 250 kilometers northwest of Manila.

It faces the South China Sea in the west and the Lawis River in the north, the National Highway No. 3 at the east and lying along the coastline of Oyon Bay in the south.

“The power plant destroyed not just the protected areas of Masinloc but also the entire Masinloc and Oyon Bay Marine Reserve,” Marabe said. The Masinloc power plant, the oldest facility, was privatized by the government in 2008. AES Corp. won the auction for the Zambales-based coal-fired facility with its bid of $930 million.

Subsequent local opposition and protests created problems for the plant’s developers with land-acquisition, resettlement and obtaining an environmental compliance certificate, thus significantly delaying the project’s construction.

AES Corp. is an American company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, through a foreign company registered in the Philippines, Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd.

In July last year, reports surfaced that AES is selling its controlling stake in the Masinloc power plant, as the United States energy giant realized gains from its 2008 acquisition and wants to realize “good value” from the sale as it dumps coal assets in favor of renewable energy.