NO TO COAL. NASSA's Fr.

Edwin Gariguez (2nd from right) joins other groups in launching of the
one Million signature campaign against coal-fired power plant during a press conference in Quezon
City on June 5. Photo courtesy of Nassa

MANILA, PhilippinesA plan by the countrys biggest power distributor to put

another coal-fired power plant in Quezon province hits another roadblock.
The Catholic Churchs social action arm on Friday, June 5, said they are
against the planned 1,200 megawatt power plant extension project in
Atimonan town.
The National Secretariat for Social Action (Nassa) joins the Diocese of
Lucena, Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), and other groups
that have voiced opposition to the plan in recent months.
In a statement, the church agency said while the government should address
the looming power crisis, it should not be at the expense of the health of the
people and the environment.
Coal-fired power plants are said to be the most polluting form of energy
generation.
Sa madaling sabi, isang malaking delubyo sa ating kalikasan ang iniimbita
nating muling maganap kapalit ng developmentna inaasam ng ating
gobyerno, Nassa said.
Hindi dapat masilaw ang ating gobyerno sa milyun-milyong kikitain mula
sa tax revenue na ibibigay ng mga plantang ito kung ang kapalit ay tiyak na
kamatayan, it said.
(In other words, were inviting a deluge to destroy our environment again just
so we will have this development that our government wants to achieve.

The government should not be dazzled by the millions of tax revenues from
these plants, if it would cost lives.)
The Manila Electric Companys $2 billion Atimonan project will be the third
coal plant in Quezon along with the Mauban Coal Plant and the Pagbilao Coal
Plant.
Data from the PMCJ showed that there are 26 new coal plant projects that will
operate in the country by year 2010.
In a press conference on Friday, Nassa executive secretary Father Edwin
Gariguez warned that the projects would open another door for the Philippines
to become a major contributor of greenhouse gasses.
He said the Church should be more aggressive in campaigning against coal
power plant because the government is adamant to pursue the extension of
these destructive operations by asking for emergency powers.
In the guise of providing more efficient energy source, higher tax revenues
and the so-called greater development, the state and the multi-national coal
companies are opening another door for Philippines to becoming the major
contributor to climate change, Gariguez stressed.
He added the government should not also disregard the health and lives of the
people that will be sacrificed by these coal power plants.
The catastrophe we experienced from Typhoon Yolanda, which killed
thousands and damaged billions of properties, is proof to this [sic], he said.
Nassa also supported the One Million Against Coal Campaign which aimed
to gather at least 1 million signatures against the construction of more coal
power plants and coal mines across the country.

The petition likewise hopes to persuade the government to heed to its

commitment of combating and mitigating climate change and preventing
calamities. Rappler.com

Quezon to become most powerful province

by 2019, Gov. Suarez says
Like Ko Hate Ko
Quezon will become the most powerful province over the next five years with the ability to generate
up to 5,000 megawatts of power, Governor David Suarez said.
By 2019, Quezon province will be the most powerful province, he told reporters.
Suarez said several power plants are set to be constructed in the province over the next five years to
boost the combined capacity of 1,195 MW generated by the two coal power plants currently operating
in Quezon.
The existing Pagbilao coal plant with a 735-MW capacity is operated by TeaM Energy Philippines while
while the expansion called Pagbilao 3 is jointly owned by TeaM Energy and Aboitiz Power Corp.
A new 460-MW coal plant will also be added to the existing 46-MW Mauban coal power plant owned by
Quezon Power Philippines Ltd.
Aside from the expansion projects, Suarez said Meralco PowerGen will also put up a 1,200-MW coal
plant in Atimonan, which will also be run on coal.
Another 600 MW would also come from the LNG project of Energy World Corp. of Australia.
EWC, by second quarter, they should be running on test capacity. Last I heard, they will pick up
around 400 MW, he said.

http://politics.com.ph/quezon-to-become-most-powerful-province-by-2019-govsuarez-says/

Background on Project
June 2015: Church and community leaders speak at anti-coal rally in Atimonan

The Atimonan power station was originally proposed as a power plant fueled by liquified natural gas,
but the project proponent, Meralco PowerGen, later changed the fuel to coal. In February 2015 the
project was approved by the Quezon provincial legislative council, or Sangguniang Panlalawigan
(SP). According to a report in BusinessMirror, 11 SP members, including presiding officer Vice Gov.
Sam Nantes, were hosted in Taiwan on January 28 and 29by a Taiwanese construction company on
an all-expenses paid trip to view similar power plants. Final approval of the project rests with the
national government.[1]

Opposition

June 2015: Marchers protest proposed coal plant in Atimonan

In June 2015, more than 1,500 protesters, led by church leaders, staged a march and a prayer vigil
in opposition to the project. The protest, which was named "Lakad-Dasal-Bibliya para sa Kalikasan
(roughly translated: "Bible prayer walk for nature") began with a march in which participants circled
the town, then stopped in front of the municipal hall before continuing to Our Lady of the Angels
Parish Church. At the church, the protesters heard speeches, performed dances and songs, and
then held an overnight vigil.[2]

Project Details

Sponsor: Meralco PowerGen

Parent company:

Location: Barangay Villa Ibaba, Atimonan Municipality, Quezon Province, Philippines [1]

Coordinates: 14, 121.916667 (approximate)

Status: Pre-permit development

Gross capacity: 1200 MW (4 x 300 MW)

Type:

Projected in service: 2018[3]

Coal type:

Coal source:

Source of financing:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Atimonan_power_station

SP okays 3rd coal-fired

plant in Quezon

News

Regions
by John Bello - February 19, 2015
0 801

LUCENA CITYThe Quezon provincial legislative council

has approved the construction of the third coal-fired
power plant in the province, in response to the
anticipated shortage of power supply in the country for
the coming years.
Quezon Second District Provincial Board Member
Ferdinand Talabong and his colleague, Board Member
Donaldo Suarez spearheaded the approval in the
Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) early this month of the
1,200-megawatt (MW) Atimonan One Energy power plant

project to be located in Barangay Villa Ibaba in Atimonan

town.
Res ipsa loquitor, or the thing speaks for itself,
Talabong, a lawyer, said on why the board members
approved the construction of a new coal-fired power
plant, despite the establishment of the 730-MW Pagbilao
and 440-MW Mauban coal-fired thermal power plants a
few years ago.
Look at Pagbilao and Mauban towns. They are the envy
today of other municipal governments in our province,
because of progress due to the construction of the two
power plants in both towns. They have better roads,
municipal buildings and educational facilities; they have
medicine supply for the health problems of their
populace, and their employees enjoy good salaries,
so res ipsa loquitor, a Latin term in law which means the
thing speaks for itself, Talabong told the BusinessMirror
in an interview on Monday at his law office here.
Talabong admitted that 11 SP members, including its
presiding officer, Vice Gov. Sam Nantes, have gone to
Taipei, Taiwan, on January 28 and 29, because they were
formally invited by a construction firm in Formosa, which,
together with Meralco Power Generation Co MGen, is the
project proponent of the power facility to be constructed
in Atimonan.
Before we traveled to Taiwan, we talked it over and
consulted Governor Suarez and Vice Governor Nantes for

the trip, and our travel expenses are shouldered by the

project proponent. We went there for inspection, and we
have visited two power plants there within the city
proper itself: one in the commercial district and the other
in an industrial estate, Talabong said. He said the SP only
approved the endorsement of the power project to the
Department of Energy (DOE), and its up to the national
government to make the final decision.
He said that SP members during the administration of
former Gov. Eduardo Rodrigues also traveled for
inspection of power plants in Hong Kong and America
before the construction of the Pagbilao and Mauban
power plants, both established during Rodriguezs term.
Talabong, SP committee chairman on laws and ways and
means, said that Quezon province is already lagging
behind in the construction of a new coal-fired power
plant, because there are two similar power plants to be
constructed in Davao City and another in Limay, Bataan,
by the same Formosa power construction firm.
He said that the establishment of a new power plant in
Quezon is in response to the directive of the national
government, and the emergency power given to
President Aquino last year was to address the impending
power crisis of the country. He said the DOE has revealed
that the country will be about 500 MW short in power
supply yearly and needs to have a standby of some 1,500
MW to avoid a power shutdown.

Talabong said the establishment of the Atimonan power

plant comes with the construction of a 20-kilometer road
project from Barangay Villa Ibaba to the national highway
that will benefit four to five barangays. About P300
million will be generated in real-property taxes annually
for the province.
Earlier last year the power-project proponent has
proposed for the establishment of a liquefied natural gaspower plant facility in Atimonan, but changed its mind
because it considered the construction of a power plant
fueled by coal much cheaper than natural gas.
On February 2 the SP, led by Talabong and Suarez, the SP
committee chairman on energy, approved the planned
expansion of the Mauban power plant in Barangay
Cagsiay that would double its power-generating capacity
to more than 800 MW.
In June last year the SP approved the power-plant
expansion in Pagbilao with another 400 MW, from the
existing 730 MW.
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/sp-okays-3rd-coal-fired-plant-in-quezon/