Environmental groups, bishop warn of Tañon Strait pollution from Cebu power plant

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – Environmental advocates, including a Catholic bishop from Negros Occidental, have raised concerns over the operations of a 340-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Toledo City, Cebu, accusing the facility of contaminating the Tãñon Strait, a vital waterway separating Cebu and Negros islands.

The environmental watchdog Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED) said water samples taken on February 11 near the Therma Visayas Incorporated’s (TVI) facility in Barangay Bato, Toledo, showed boron levels four times higher than normal. 

TVI is a subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corporation or AboitizPower, which is among the country’s largest power firms. The Aboitiz group supplies electricity through distribution utilities in several major areas of the country.

Boron, a chemical element, can be toxic in high concentrations, potentially harming marine life and posing health risks to humans, including damage to the stomach, intestines, liver, kidneys, and brain. In severe cases, exposure can be fatal.

Sulfate levels exceeded the baseline by 1.4 times, while nickel concentrations were approaching regulatory limits, the nongovernmental organization said.

San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, convenor of the Save Tãñon Strait Network (STSN) in Negros Occidental, urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Energy, and Department of Health to intervene.

“Energy Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla is from Aboitiz. Therefore, he should know and address this problem,” Alminaza said.

Krishna Ariola, CEED climate and energy program head, called on the DENR to declare Tãñon Strait a “non-attainment area” under the Philippine Clean Water Act. Such a designation would recognize that pollution levels have exceeded water quality guidelines, necessitating targeted management and remediation efforts.

“This is alarming not just for our Visayan fisherfolk, but also for the health of people, especially in Barangay Bato, Toledo, as well as those in other parts of Cebu and Negros, who will be exposed to the affected ecosystem by boron contamination,” Ariola told Rappler on Monday, March 31.

Nicasio Blanco, president of Limpyong Hangin Alang sa Tanan (LAHAT), said the pollution was already affecting both the environment and the livelihoods of many families living near the plant.

According to CEED, around 43,000 fisherfolk in Cebu and the Negros Island Region could suffer economic losses due to reduced fish catch as a result of the alleged pollution.

The approximately 160-kilometer Tañon Strait links the Visayan Sea to the Bohol Sea and is one of the Philippines’ largest marine protected areas. Designated as a protected seascape, it is the country’s second-largest and an Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA), home to 14 recorded cetacean species. It also serves as a vital fishing ground for about 2.4 million Filipinos

Sought for comment, JK Huyatid, TVI’s corporate affairs manager, said the firm was not yet ready to issue a statement on the allegations leveled at TVI as of this posting.

On its website, TVI stated that its plant houses a coal dome facility and “uses state-of-the-art Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) and the Best Available Control Technology (BACT) to minimize coal dust emissions that can harm the atmosphere.”

CEED and STSN have also opposed TVI’s reported plan to expand and boost its capacity by 150 MW more. TVI has been operating the 340-MW plant in Toledo for about five years now.

“Our call now is to halt the permitting of additional coal expansion pending verification of these disturbing findings,” Bishop Alminaza said.

Ariola, meanwhile, said CEED would bring the matter to Congress after the May 12 midterm elections, aiming to block TVI’s proposed expansion and address the alleged pollution of Tãñon Strait.

She noted that while the 2020 coal moratorium remains in place to facilitate the transition to cleaner energy sources, it cannot be applied retroactively to existing or previously approved projects. – Rappler.com