3 big energy players ink ‘VIP’ pact; green group cynical

HANDS OFF THIS HOT SPOT Home to thousands of marine animal and plant species, the Verde Island Passage has been the subject of Church-backed conservation campaigns for years. PROTECT VIP

MANILA, Philippines — Three of the country’s largest conglomerates have sealed a five-year partnership with the government to protect the Verde Island Passage (VIP), considered the “center of the center” of the world’s marine shore fish biodiversity.

On Tuesday, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Energy signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ramon Ang, chair and CEO of San Miguel Corp. (SMC); Manuel Pangilinan, chair, president and CEO of Metro Pacific Investments Corp.; and Sabin Aboitiz, president and CEO of Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc.

READ: Court asked to compel DENR to protect Verde

Among the ‘richest’

The nonbinding accord took effect also on Tuesday and may be extended. A technical working group will be convened within 30 days to flesh out the partnership, identify the function of each party, and secure the funding needed for its goals.

The VIP is a 1.14-million hectare marine ecosystem located off the coastlines of Batangas, Romblon, Marinduque, Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro provinces. It separates Mindoro island from Luzon.

As one of the country’s richest fishing grounds, it hosts more than 1,700 marine species, including 60 percent of the world’s shore fish species, and 300 coral species as well as seagrass and mangroves.

More than two million people from five provinces draw their livelihood from the VIP, which is also a busy shipping corridor.

Ang said “preserving our marine resources is crucial not just for today but for future generations.”

READ: Oil spill reaches Verde Island Passage

Bio research station

“We must make sure that — in our quest to provide clean, reliable, and affordable energy to our people — we also pay attention to safeguarding the environment and the communities we serve,” Pangilinan said.

For his part, Aboitiz said, “It has always been our goal to help safeguard our environment and uplift the welfare of the communities, in this case the people who are dependent on the Verde Island Passage for their livelihood.”

Among its objectives, the agreement hopes to see the setup of a marine science biological research station with facilities in VIP and across the five surrounding provinces, in partnership with institutions like the University of the Philippines, De La Salle University and the California Academy of Sciences.

The MOU also calls for close coordination and engagement with communities to give them a platform for their concerns.

The partnership will also help the country meet the long-term targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which is the key outcome of the 15th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, said Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga.

The MOU came at a time when the three companies had forged a $3.3-billion deal to develop the country’s “first and most expansive” integrated liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Batangas province.

READ: Three tycoons sign $3.3-billion energy deal

Welcomed with cynicism

The environmental advocacy group that had long been campaigning to keep the VIP free from the adverse effects of commerce and industry welcomed Tuesday’s agreement with a tinge of cynicism.

“There is no reason not to welcome efforts seeking to preserve the Verde Island Passage, which supports millions of Filipinos with their sustenance and livelihood,” Protect VIP said in a statement on Tuesday.

But the group said it could not help but “raise questions over the sincerity of the agreement” between the DENR and the three companies who signed up, “considering their fossil gas business is one of the worst risks confronting the VIP today.”

“By building more fossil gas power plants in the VIP, it is exposing the marine corridor and adjacent communities to pollution, biodiversity and livelihood disruption, and exacerbated effects of the climate crisis,” said Gerry Arances, executive durector of sustainability think tank Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development, a coconvener of Protect VIP.

The group noted that “five of the six existing fossil gas facilities, four of the seven proposed LNG terminals, and nine of the 39 gas power plants proposed in the Philippines are located in Batangas.”

It also brought up the $3.3-billion Batangas LNG project recently unveiled by the three energy players.

“If SMC, AEV and MPIC are genuine in their joint stewardship, building a multibillion-dollar gas project that would only bring harm to the VIP shouldn’t push through in the first place,” Arances said.

Assurance from DOE

The three conglomerates, he said, “can show their sincerity in protecting the VIP by stopping their fossil gas expansion plans, prioritizing instead the development of clean energy from renewables, and helping contribute to building the resilience of marine and coastal biodiversity and communities.”

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla sought to address concerns over the impact of the development of LNG facilities on the Verde Island Passage, saying that in contrast to an oil or coal spill, “LNG is in fact much safer because the liquefied form evaporates and does not affect the marine environment.”

In March last year, the MT Princess Empress oil tanker sank and spilled industrial fuel oil that leached into the marine ecosystems of nearby provinces, including VIP, the marine corridor separating the islands of Luzon and Mindoro.

In December 2023, environmental groups asked the Court of Appeals to compel the DENR to designate the VIP a “nonattainment area” to stop further pollution in the world’s “center of the center of marine shore fish biodiversity.”

In 2023, the VIP was named a “Hope Spot” by international marine conservation nonprofit organization Mission Blue, which said the strait was recognized globally as critical to the health of the ocean.

Conservation International (CI) also dubbed the Verde Island Passage “the backbone of the local economy, thriving upon coastal tourism, fisheries, and as a shipping route.” But the CI said the strait “is becoming increasingly threatened by illegal and destructive fishing practices, pollution, unsustainable land use and irresponsible tourism.”—REPORTS FROM JORDEENE B. LAGARE, DELFIN T. MALLARI JR. AND INQUIRER RESEARCH