Gov’t told coal plant to put aircraft at risk

SUBIC BAY International Airport sits in an area near where business groups insist on building a coal plant amid warnings about the risks that the project will bring to aircraft. ROBERT GONZAGA JR. / INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—The 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant being proposed by RP Energy here will endanger aircraft using the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA), including those that fly into this free port under the country’s Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, a British pilot said.

During a public hearing held by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Monday, David Beechcroft, former chief pilot of Cathay Pacific and a resident here, asked RP Energy officials whether they were aware of this danger.

“You didn’t even approach one of the biggest stakeholders in this area, that of course is the SBIA,” said Beechcroft.

“Because if you had approached SBIA with this proposed coal plant, you would have discovered that if you build a smokestack off the extension of Runway 2-5, it is highly illegal,” Beechcroft said.

CAAP manual

He said the regulation came from the manual of standards of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

“The law, according to the CAAP, states that you are not allowed to build a smokestack more than 110 meters [high within 15 km of an airport] and your proposal actually has 150 meters. It’s the law, sir, the Philippine law,” he said.

He said the need to rethink the construction of the coal-fired power plant becomes more urgent because the Department of National Defense has signified its intention to use the SBIA as a military base and the US Air Force has been using the facility during military exercises with Philippine troops.

But David Evangelista, spokesperson for RP Energy, said the firm had considered the airport when they proposed the project.

“It’s a huge facility, no one can miss it. We went to the local aviation authority. They issued us a height clearance certificate,” he said.

“One reason is that right behind us is a 700-meter natural barrier (referring to the mountains at the Redondo Peninsula), therefore it is not in the flight path,” he said.

“To prove that, the [CAAP] gave us a permit, a height clearance certificate for the smokestack that we are building. So yes, we are in compliance with national and international aviation laws,” he said.

Manslaughter

David Porter, a free port locator, said an international aviation manual warns against building a coal plant near an airport because of the dangers “not just from the tower itself but from the heat plume that comes from that.”

“I would like to know … do we send the police to you for manslaughter charges when the first plane comes down?” he said at the hearing.

When asked, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Chair Roberto Garcia said he has not seen the height clearance certificate issued to RP Energy.

Zharex Santos, SBIA manager, said he was not aware of any permit secured by RP Energy.

“The height clearance permit being issued by the CAAP is part of the building permit requirement that the SBMA will process before a construction permit is issued,” Santos said.