Farmers, Fishers oppose LNG Plant in Zambo

FARMERS and fisherfolk in Barangay Sangali, Zamboanga City joined forces with climate organizations in opposing the 300-megawatt liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant project planned to be constructed by San Miguel Corporation (SMC) there.

Led by the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), filed a letter of opposition to the SMC LNG power plant project before the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 9 office in Pagadian City on March 28.

The groups called on the Zamboanga City local government, the DENR Environmental Management Bureau, and the Department of Energy (DOE) to have the SMC project halted, along with other similar ones throughout the country, and make way for a “long overdue” investigation of the serious risks and harm these pose to communities and the environment.

The letter of opposition cited that fugitive emissions or unintentional leaks during the transport of LNG have a high probability of seeping into agricultural fields and waterways that farmers and fishers rely on.

Further, such leaks produce large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere which add up to the problem of climate change.

“Unlike coal, the effects of fossil gas are not easily discerned. You do not have ash fall like coal, and gas leakages are colorless and odorless. The long-term effects of methane on health and rising global temperatures are also not as widely researched as carbon dioxide. In many ways, this makes LNG more pernicious and harmful because their impact on communities and the climate cannot be seen until it is too late,“ said Rara Ada, PMCJ Mindanao Coordinator.

Citing research done last 2020 on the Mindanao Power Mix, PMCJ claimed that the dependence on coal has driven electricity rates to a record high of PhP 17/kwh.

Coal, like LNG, is mostly imported. But unlike coal, global LNG supply has been disrupted due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine leading to the skyrocketing of oil prices.

“The plan to shift to LNG does not make good economic and business sense. Why choose an energy source that would destabilize and endanger the electricity supply?”, Ada added.

According to Nelson Marupo, a member of the Sangali Fisherfolk Association, they are worried that if the project pushes through, they would experience higher morbidity levels just like the communities in Batangas City that host similar power-generating facilities.

Currently, Batangas City hosts five of the six operational LNG-fueled power plants in the country. When built, SMC’s project will be the first in Mindanao.