Polibiz
Coal-fired power plant
Last Friday, together with other members of the media, I had the opportunity to attend a public hearing on the proposed construction of a coal-fired power plant held at Brgy. Nipa, Concepcion, Iloilo, attended by town folks coming from various barangays.
It was a brief visit which lasted for more than an hour, I must confess.
Upon arrival we caught Mayor Raul Banias on the microphone explaining what their town and the people would benefit out of the construction of the said plant.
A make-shift tent was built purposely to accommodate hundreds of attendees giving them a chance to speak out their sentiments for the imminent construction of the coal-fired power plant in their town.
It has been observed that of the town's 25 barangays, 23 officially confirmed their interest for the construction of the coal plant.
Being a democratic society, Mayor Banias patiently allowed a handful of oppositionists bravely forcing themselves to penetrate the tent with their streamers and other paraphernalia to show their outright rejection of the project.
Surprisingly, the alleged leader of this handful group (shame on you for dragging innocent children and putting them in the frontline) had the temerity to use the children for his own political crusade. It has been a public knowledge in Concepcion that this man would go against Mayor Banias for whatever the latter stands for.
Certainly he badly needs sufficient media mileage for free, and what else could be a better opportunity to grab the limelight knowing that there was media coverage to document the on-going public hearing? It was a rare opportunity the alleged leader could not afford to ignore.
Honestly, my heart bleeds watching these people from a distance allowing their selves to act as pawns for the wrong reason.
"It has been a long process since the project proponent had started just a few years back," explained Mayor Banias. A series of consultative meetings were made without a single attempt to make a shortcut. Everything that Mayor Banias did was in accordance with the law.
A physician by profession, Mayor Banias would not take the risk of putting the health of his constituents in danger, much more his own family and himself.
With the advent of the advance technology compared in the past, coal-fired power plant right in the heart of the city of some parts in Europe and the United States of America not to mention our neighboring Asian countries, people continue living and existing in harmony with their environment not being bothered getting poisoned by a gas or mercury leakage from a coal plant.
It is completely a misnomer spread by some groups in guise of being "environmentalists" that a coal plant would trigger the end of the world.
There are various groups proclaiming themselves as environmental crusaders who raise their voice up against imminent construction of the coal-fired power plant in Concepcion, yet at the same time willing to have their palms opened to compromise if the price is right.
Who are they fooling anyway?
The existence of the coal plants in Sual, Pangasinan and in Pagbilao, Quezon where residents in both towns and provinces are harmoniously living in progress are a classic example that the fear of getting annihilated is nothing but a myth, for right beside the plants fish sanctuary exists, where the bounty of the sea is abundant.
The province of Iloilo is in dire need of power and that's a fact.
Both the province and the city have one common goal – to attract investors and tourists, and foreigners visiting our country.
Hence, the coal-fired power plant could pave our way to a better and progressive Iloilo.