Environmental groups score AFP spokesman
Greenpeace and environmental groups in Iloilo have denounced a spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for branding groups protesting the construction of a coal-fired power plant as "front organizations" of the underground Leftist movement.
In a statement, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Greenpeace said Capt. Lowen Gil Marquez, chief of the AFP's 32nd Civil Relations Unit, was virtually endorsing the controversial coal plants that have been blamed by environmental groups for polluting the environment and significantly contributing to global warming.
"The proposed coal-fired power plant is clearly an environmentally-destructive project which no government agency should endorse," according to the Greenpeace statement.
It pointed out that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations body that was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for raising awareness and action on climate change, has itself acknowledged that "coal-fired power plants are among the major causes of global warming, the greatest environmental threat that our planet currently faces."
Marquez had earlier issued a statement claiming that "front organizations" of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front are planning to conduct protest actions today and on February 15 against the coal power plant project.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has scheduled a public hearing on February 15 in connection with the application of the Global Business Power Corp. (GBPC) and Panay Power Corp. (PPC) to put up a 100-megawatt coal plant in Barangay Ingore in La Paz District here
Marquez further claimed that the underground organizations plan to "penetrate" religious schools which have been vocal against the coal plant project. He also defended the coal plant claiming that it will generate three million jobs on Panay Island in 15 years.
But the Catholic Church dismissed Marquez's statements as a rehash of "red-baiting" to boost the coal plant project.
"Bumenta na 'yan," said Msgr. Meliton Oso, executive director of the Jaro Archdiocese Social Action Center, in a telephone interview.
Oso said they are standing by the 2005 pastoral statement of two archbishops, including Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines President Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, and six bishops in Western Visayas opposing the construction of coal plants anywhere in the region.
The prelates had said that coal plants "though the cheapest are also the dirtiest of possible sources of (power)." Instead of the coal-fired plants, the bishops are pushing for the utilization of renewable sources of energy like wind, solar, water and geothermal.
Sought for comment, Marquez said he is concerned that "the students and people opposing the coal plant are being conditioned to go against the government," saying that the coal plant is "for the common good."
Environmental groups in Iloilo threatened to file a case against Marquez and the AFP for being partisan in the issue when the environmental safety of the project is still being determined under the DENR's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process.
"Marquez is conditioning the people who are against the coal-fired power plant not to participate in the February 15, 2008 public hearing. If it is not the official policy of the AFP to endorse projects undergoing the EIA process then we will ask the Philippine Army for a summary investigation of Marquez's irresponsible actions," said Melvin Purzuelo, coordinator of the Green Forum-Western Visayas, in an e-mailed statement.
Purzuelo said the AFP's statements are alarming for environmental groups who have been campaigning for safer and cleaner technology.
"What this AFP officer is saying is that the active participation of the citizens in the discourse for alternative sources of energy and the protection of the environment is equivalent to rebellion or insurgency. This same officer, by the way, has sworn to protect the Philippine constitution and defend the rights of its people," said Purzuelo.