As reported in 2015 [5], Amen (or the Archdiocesan Ministry on Environment) is not saying amen to the 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant (CFPP) that JG Summit Corp. plans to build in Barangay Pinamucan Ibaba in Batangas City. Amen and the No to Coal-Fired Power Plant Coalition are leading the citizens’ protest. Coal is among the dirtiest sources of energy. The furor over the proposed CFPP in Palawan has not drowned out the Batangueños’ own protest against a similar threat to their domain. Being a favorite tourist destination and the so-called last frontier of ecological diversity, Palawan has been getting a lot of attention. But Batangas City protest actions are gathering steam of their own. Fr. Dakila “Dak” M. Ramos, coordinator of the coalition and director of Amen, wrote to Batangas City Mayor Eddie Dimacuha so that he wouldstand firm against the project that would dramatically change the city’s coastal landscape. Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles gave his support to the protest. The mayor said he has forwarded the letter to the City Council. The archbishop’s letter to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has been acknowledged.Those against the CFPP have Church pronouncements, scientific findings and legal arguments to back their vehement stand. In Batangas, south of Manila, in April 2015 about 300 Catholic priests led by Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles held a prayer rally before proceeding to a committee hearing called by the Batangas city council to discuss issuing a location permit for the project. [1] Arguelles reiterated the Church’s position that generating power from coal, known to be one of the dirtiest fossil fuels and biggest sources of carbon dioxide, poses a great threat to the environment and human health.[2]. In February 2015, the priests had also led a “prayer walk” attended by some 3,000 people. They have been campaigning against the coal-fired power plant through their churches. On May 4, 2016, around 10,000 people marched in Batangas City to express their opposition to the project. Greenpeace described in August 2017 the complaints as follows [1][3]. "The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) held a public hearing on the proposed coal-fired power plant project of Merbau Corporation, a subsidiary of JG Summit Holdings, Inc. Civil society organizations, including Greenpeace, Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, Health Care Without Harm, and the Archdiocesan Ministry on Environment (AMEn) joined Batangas local groups and community members in voicing their opposition to the project. The coal project in question is the same facility that 10,000 people protested against in 2016, under the global banner of Break Free From Fossil Fuels. In support of Batangas communities opposing the project, Yeb Saño, Executive Director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said: “Batangas province does not need any new coal-fired power plants. The whole country does not need any new coal plant. The writing is on the wall – coal plants bring along with them a host of problems that include adverse health burdens for the local communities and dangerous pollution of the air, land, and water - in the entire value chain of coal.”The 2016 Greenpeace report “Coal: A Public Health Crisis,” which was based on a study conducted together with Harvard University, estimates that 2,400 Filipinos are dying from coal-related air pollution every year. “We have said, time and again, that coal projects are highly questionable in this day and age when renewables are more economically competitive and have much less environmental impacts. It gives us reason to think that proponents of coal-fired power plants are just out there for short-term profit at the long-term expense of communities and the environment,“ Saño added. |
Four 150-megawatt coal plants on a 20-hectare site in Barangay Pinamucan Ibaba, adjacent to JG Summit's Batangas petrochemical plant. Local opposition led by Catholic Church.
Description:
Basic Data
| Name of conflict: | Coal fired power plants, Batangas, Philippines |
| Country: | Philippines |
| State or province: | Calabarzon region in Luzon |
| Location of conflict: | Batangas city, Batangas province |
| Accuracy of location | HIGH (Local level) |
Source of Conflict
| Type of conflict. 1st level: | Fossil Fuels and Climate Justice/Energy |
| Type of conflict. 2nd level: | Coal extraction and processing |
| Specific commodities: | Electricity Coal |
Project Details and Actors
| Project details | The proposal is by JG Summit Holdings Inc. for four 150-megawatt coal plants on a 20-hectare site in Barangay Pinamucan Ibaba. The plant would be adjacent to JG Summit's Batangas petrochemical plant. |
| Start of the conflict: | 2015 |
| Company names or state enterprises: | JG Summit Holdings Inc from Philippines |
| Relevant government actors: | Batangas city council DENR |
| Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available: | Catholic Church (Archdiocesan Ministry on Environment (AMEN) Greenpeace Philippine Movement for Climate Justice Health Care Without Harm |
Conflict & Mobilization
| Intensity | MEDIUM (street protests, visible mobilization) |
| Reaction stage | PREVENTIVE resistance (precautionary phase) |
| Groups mobilizing: | International ejos Local ejos Neighbours/citizens/communities Religious groups Fisher people |
| Forms of mobilization: | Community-based participative research (popular epidemiology studies, etc..) Development of a network/collective action Media based activism/alternative media Official complaint letters and petitions Public campaigns Street protest/marches |
Impacts
| Environmental Impacts | Potential: Air pollution, Global warming, Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Groundwater pollution or depletion |
| Health Impacts | Potential: Other Health impacts |
| Other Health impacts | In this case, there is preventive activity from the Philippines campaign against coal dust, respiratory illnesses [4] |
| Socio-economical Impacts | Potential: Violations of human rights |
Outcome
| Project Status | Proposed (exploration phase) |
| Conflict outcome / response: | Strengthening of participation |
| Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?: | Not Sure |
| Briefly explain: | The struggle to prevent the building of the coal fired power plants in Batangas began in 2015-17. |
Sources & Materials
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| Related media links to videos, campaigns, social network |
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Meta information
| Contributor: | JMA |
| Last update | 18/08/2019 |
| Conflict ID: | 3085 |
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