MISREADINGS
Images of the days to come
For a month now, I have repeatedly received text messages from unnamed individuals reporting continuous odor emanating from the emissions of the coal-fired power plant in Brgy. Ingore in the district of La Paz, Iloilo City.
Initial incident was reported that numerous pupils at an elementary school in the neighboring barangay of Ticud were brought to the hospital for medical attention as a result of the odor from the emissions of the coal plant’s test firing exercises.
It did not stop there, a series of incidents ensued over the weeks as a result of the test firing of the plant, an event closely followed by the local media. The residents described the odor as something similar to a used vehicle tires being burned. “We could hardly breath and we heavily grasp for oxygen as the odor is so intense for hours,” described by one in a text message.
I have mixed reactions after receiving text reports on the immediate impact experienced by the residents in the host and neighboring barangays as a result of the test firing of the plant for the reason that I am one of the many who have expressed consistent opposition regarding coal plants as a facility for modern day energy generation.
Its impact both on the environment and health of the people has been made available as a result of scientific studies and researches. Also counted are the economic and social impacts to communities hosting coal plants all over the world over the years.
We had an opportunity to send an individual for a study-tour to the islands of Indonesia which houses the biggest coal mining facility which also imports coal to the Philippines. A coal plant is likewise erected for the electricity requirements of the island.
Its own findings were alarming as images captured in camera were distressing and the testimonies of the people gathered through interaction with the local folks were disturbing. At first look the images could illustrate what grim future awaits our own residents staying in the area around the coal plant.
I cannot help but find similarities in the villages hosting the coal plant in Indonesia from our own in La Paz. It is located near the sea for convenient source of water for desalination and for the use of its cooling system, easy access for water discharge of the plant, and for coal delivery pier.
What used to be a lively and vibrant village was reduced to rubble as entire villagers abandoned their homes to relocate elsewhere in order to stay away from pollution and the dangers presented by the coal plant to their health. Imagine a number of remaining families who have nowhere else to go gathered in a table for breakfast enveloped in a large mosquito net in order to minimize particulates from entering their food. Their water sources are polluted and natural resources depleted.
These kinds of images backed by scientific findings were among the key issues presented by the many groups and individuals to forewarn our own residents who at the onset embraced the proposal that a coal plant be constructed in our own backyard. As the coal plant of Panay Energy Development Corp. is there to stay and its impact soon be normalized, everyone will be back in business as usual.
However, in the days to come, I am sure that the images we see today will eventually mirror those communities hosting coal plants in other parts of the world. Hosting coal plants are life changing decisions from the residents who have been promised that only through this path that development and progress could be achieved.*
(Email: peoplesdomain@yahoo.com)
