Veto against Aboitiz plant reversed

Business World
Posted on December 13, 2011 09:18:53 PM


DAVAO CITY -- Aboitiz Power Corp. will be allowed to build its 300-megawatt, coal-fired power plant after all with the city council deciding on Monday to reverse a veto issued by Mayor Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio against the project.
Twenty-one of the 26 councilors voted to override Ms. Duterte-Carpio’s decision against a land reclassification that would have allowed Aboitiz Power to put up its P25-billion plant. The council vote in effect affirms an ordinance that reclassifed a lot in Barangay Binugao, Toril District from medium industrial zone to protected heavy industrial zone.


Based on the Local Government Code of 1991, the city council, with a vote of two-thirds can override the veto of the mayor.


Some of the councilors who did not vote on the override, including lone opposition to the project Leah A. Librado, were absent, while others were on official business. The override of the veto took place as members of civil society opposing the project held a protest.


Ms. Duterte-Carpio and the officials of Aboitiz Power were not immediately available for comment.


Ms. Duterte-Carpio had said the project will be both detrimental to the health of the people and the environment. She said Aboitiz Power, being one of the biggest power providers in the country, can always look for alternative sources of energy.


But in proposing to override the Mayor’s earlier decision, Councilor Melchor V. Quitain said the coal plant must be immediately constructed because Mindanao is facing a looming power crisis within the next two years.


Mr. Quitain said that while the company must also pursue alternative power sources given the city’s favorable “weather conditions and topographical nuances,” renewable power sources cannot meet the growing power demand of the city.


Currently, this city alone of 1.5 million people requires at least 350 megawatts of power or close to a third of Mindanao’s average demand.


The power plant will be located in a 51-hectare lot straddling this city and Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur. The municipal government of Sta. Cruz already approved the project. In the meantime, Mindanao relies heavily on state-run hydrolelectric plants. -- CGF