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ENVIRONMENTAL lawyers have cited a “conflict of interest” in a revised agreement between the Cebu provincial government and a power firm on how to handle the waste from coal-fired power plants.
In a letter to the Capitol, environment lawyer Gloria Estenzo-Ramos said she and her colleagues could not understand why the provincial government, which is tasked to enforce environment laws, was so “enthusiastic” to buy coal ash from power plants to resell them to cement companies.
“There is a clear conflict of interest in the additional transaction contemplated by the Cebu province and Kepco,” said Estenzo-Ramos in a letter addressed to Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and Vice Gov. Gregorio Sanchez Jr.
Estenzo-Ramos and colleague Benjamin Cabrido, members of the environmental advocacy movement “Global Legal Action on Climate Change (GLACC),” asked the Capitol for a copy of the revised memorandum of agreement between the province and the Kepco-Salcon Power Corp., which is building new power plants in Naga City.
Kepco-Salcon is a joint venture between the Philippine-based Salcon Power Corp. and the Korean Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) Philippines, whose parent company is based in South Korea.
The agreement states that the Cebu provincial government would buy coal ash from Kepco-Salcon, then sell these to cement companies, which would use the substance for the production of hollow blocks.
The environmental lawyers said that the government’s priority is “health, sanitation and environment” and that “only when these are fulfilled that the LGU (local government unit) can enter into ‘profitable’ but not questionable, ventures.”
Estenzo-Ramos and Cabrido also noted that their request for the Cebu Provincial Board to conduct an “on-site investigation on the impact of the indiscriminate dumping of coal ash to the people and the ecosystem in Naga” has not been acted upon.
The lawyers earlier filed a complaint against Capitol officials for violation of the Anti-Red Tape Act and Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. Named respondents were Garcia, Sanchez and members of the Provincial Board except Agnes Magpale and Jose Maria Gastardo.
The lawyers said the officials failed to heed their July 2 request for documents on the Capitol’s purchase of a beachfront property in Naga City, which the Capitol plans to use as a dumping site for coal ash.
Magpale was excluded because she responded to the lawyers saying she did not have access to such documents, while Gastardo was absent when the Provincial Board approved a resolution authorizing the governor to purchase the 24.7-hectare beach lot for P98.9 million in behalf of the provincial government.
The lot purchase is also the subject of a separate controversy, as the property was discovered to be mostly underwater.
