Davao City dads override mayor's veto on power plant

By Edith Regalado The Philippine Star Updated December 14, 2011 12:00 AM


DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The members of the city council overrode on Monday Mayor Sara Duterte’s veto on their earlier approval to reclassify an area in Barangay Binugao, Toril district that would virtually allow Aboitiz Power Corp. to build a 300-megawatt coal power plant there.


The city council had approved the reclassification of the power plant’s site from a medium protected industrial zone to a heavy protected industrial zone, but Duterte vetoed it last week.


The city councilors decided to override the mayor’s veto despite persistent protest from environmental groups lobbying against the coal power plant project.


Duterte had urged the power stakeholders to explore alternative sources of energy, not just coal.


The councilors argued that given the power problem that Mindanao as a whole is now experiencing, the proposed coal power plant offers a viable source while the search for alternative sources is being undertaken.