BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza joined environmentalists, youth, people’s organizations in calling newly proclaimed Mayor Renato Gustilo to be true to his pledge to ‘work towards thriving and prosperous coastal communities’ by putting his foot down against a liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant proposed by San Miguel Corporation (SMC) owned Reliance Energy Development, Inc.(REDI-SMC).
Gustilo was recently awarded by international conservation organization RARE as among 500 coastal leaders from different countries working to support ‘healthy and sustainable fishing communities.’
In a letter to Gustilo,signed by representatives of Youth for Climate Hope (Y4CH), Tanon Strait Fisherfolk Federation, Lapayran People’s Organization of Bantayan, Cebu, Oceana Philippines, Philippine Earth Justice Center (PEJC), and Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED), they said “the people of San Carlos City are in dire need of strong leadership that recognizes and protects the importance of healthy and sustainable fishing communities…Unfortunately, San Carlos residents are currently facing many threats to their coastal resources and livelihoods, most concerning among which is the 300 MW LNG plant proposed by REDI-SMC.”
While they congratulated Mayor Gustilo for being recognized as a government leader embodying care for Creation, they urged him to go further by cementing a legacy of protecting our coasts and coastal communities through rejecting REDI-SMC’s LNG power plant, which will drain life from the Tanon Strait, harm his constituents, and take away the livelihood of fisherfolk.
“This is a moral decision, we expect him to make with utmost sincerity and urgency,” Bishop Alminaza, who is also the convenor of local clean energy advocacy group RE power Negros, said.
The groups warn that the project, if built, will generate increased shipping traffic and emissions, destroy marine habitats, mangroves, and wetlands along the shoreline, generate pollution, and expose local communities to various hazards.*
