Class suit vs. EDC over use of protected area for geothermal exploration
BACOLOD CITY -- Some 170 parents and children will file a class suit against the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) on its plan to utilize the buffer zone and the protected area of Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park for geothermal exploration.
Atty. Andrea Sy and Doods Locsin of the Save the Mt. Kanlaon Coalition said that the case will be filed Wednesday in a local court to stop EDC from continuing their geothermal exploration which could compromise the environment especially the forest and biodiversity in the said protected area.
Sy said that the children, with the consent of their parents, will be the complainants because it involves this generation and future generations should destruction to the environment is done.
They seek court intervention particularly on the invalidity of the environmental compliance certificate of EDC which it obtained way back in 1995.
The area where the exploration will be made is 5-feet away from the protected area where geothermal energy is located inside the Hardin sang Balo located in the protected area.
"We want to know if their ECC is valid," Sy said.
Locsin said that there should be a strict protection of the protected zone.
As to why children and parents are the complainants, Sy said that children don't need to understand the issues clearly. Even her 16-year old son will be among the complainants. She will also convince her daughter and her baby to be among the complainants. "My children are fully aware of this environmental issues and I will include them as complainants," Sy said.
Locsin further said that "whatever is the need for power by our province, we should not compromise natural parks such as Mt. Kanla-on."
They believed that the power crisis and the continued brownouts experienced in the province and Bacolod City for a month is a form of blackmailing the power consumer that "we indeed have a power crisis."
EDC is a private company which undertakes geothermal exploration in Mailum, Bago, Negros Occidental.
They have an existing geothermal plant which has been operating for 10 years with an investment of almost P8 billion already, said Locsin.
However, it has stopped operating because of the lack of steam coming from their wells.
They will again explore in another area which is in the buffer zone. They will utilize around 12.5 hectares of the buffer zone for geothermal exploration with a purpose of generating additional steam for power generation.
However, environmentalists here including the Catholic church vehemently oppose the idea of using the buffer zone leading to the protected area as a means to source additional power for the province.
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan has already approved a resolution allowing EDC to proceed with their exploration in the buffer zone on condition that it has to have a memorandum of agreement between the provincial board and EDC setting additional conditions.
Gov. Isidro Zayco has not yet signed the memorandum of agreement considering the opposition and some conditions have yet to be finalized.