Protesters say no to 4th coal-fired plant Cebu

CEBU CITY — Environment groups staged protest actions here to oppose the continued construction of coal-fired power plants in the province of Cebu.

The Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) led protesters in a march from P. Del Rosario Extension to Colon Street for a rally urging the Cebu City council to deny a permit for the construction of another coal plant in the village of Sawang Calero. The plant’s location is near residences.

Teody Navea, PMCJ Cebu coordinator, said the group learned that the plant proponents were trying to get an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The grant of ECC, Navea said, was being made possible by the reclassification of the proposed plant site from industrial center 1 to industrial center 2, which allows the plant’s construction in a mainly residential area.

The Philippines was a signatory to the historic Paris Climate Accord, which seeks to reduce carbon emissions to slow down global warming.

The international pact seeks to limit increases in global temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius.

But, according to the Greenpeace website, the Philippines is host to nine active coal plants while 16 others had been given approval for construction.

Two of the active coal plants were in Cebu province — Sangi village in Toledo City and the town of Naga, according to the Greenpeace website.

One of the 16 proposed plants was also in Toledo City in the village of Daanlungsod.