By Jonathan L. Mayuga - February
22, 2017
ROCK Energy International
Corp.—which operates a coal stockpile in Vitas, Tondo, Manila—is appealing to
Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez to heed its call to lift the suspension
of its environmental compliance certificate (ECC).
Carlo Fontanilla, managing director
of Rock Energy, wrote a letter to Lopez on January 18 reiterating the company’s
compliance of the conditions of the ECC issued by the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources (DENR).
In a statement, Fontanilla said the
DENR-Environmental Management Bureau-National Capital Region (EMB-NCR), headed
by Director Visminda Osorio, inspected the company’s coal facility several
times, together with the EMB-Central’s Quick Response Team (EQRT) and other
multisector groups.
“Both technical teams of EMB-NCR and
the EQRT recommended the lifting of the suspension of our ECC. However, to
date, our request is not being acted accordingly by Director Osorio of
EMB-NCR,” Fontanilla said in his letter to Lopez.
“It is in view of the above that we
are appealing to your office for immediate favorable action for the lifting of
the suspension of Rock Energy ECC,” the Rock Energy official said.
Fontanilla also asked for a meeting
with Lopez, preferably at the Vitas Industrial Estate, where their coal storage
is located, “to personally appreciate that the temporary coal-storage area is
not adverse but is rather an essential part of an efficient logistics supply
chain to essential industries in nation-building.”
It was the second time Fontanilla
sent a letter to Lopez. In his December 15, 2016, letter, the Rock
Energy official said the company has fully complied with the specific
conditions set forth in the notice of violation issued to them by the DENR-EMB.
Located at Lot 3-G Earnville, Vitas
Industrial Estate in Vitas, Tondo, Rock Energy’s Mineral Products Storage and
Handling Facility had been the subject of complaints by residents of Barangay
105, who claimed coal dusts from the facility have exposed them to serious
health risks, such as respiratory diseases.
In response, the DENR suspended the
firm’s ECC NCR-1405-0199 on June 24, 2015, effectively shutting down the
stockyard.
Rock Energy said it has installed
various pollution-control systems at the facility—more than what was required
by the EMB—and that the inspection teams have recommended their reopening.
Rock Energy, a trading and logistics
firm based in the Port Area, is mainly involved in coal and mineral
distribution, supplying vital mineral resources to leading manufacturers in the
country, such as cement and glass companies.
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