Church leaders sa Meralco: “‘Wag n’yo kaming lasunin!”

HINILING ng Directors of the Ministry for Ecology of the Dioceses ng Lucena, Gumaca, at  Infanta, at mga lider ng Simbahan sa Atimonan at sa paligid ng munisipalidad kay Meralco PowerGen Corporation (MGen) President at CEO Rogelio Singson na baliktarin ang naging desisyon ng Meralco generation arm’s na muling simulan ang pag-develop ng kanilang ‘coal power plant’ sa Atimonan, Quezon.

Ang kahilingan ay idinaan sa pamamagitan ng liham na may mga lagda nina  Rev. Fr. Zandro De Leon,  Diocese ng Gumaca;  Fr. Pete Montallana, Prelature ng Infanta; Fr. Warren Puno, Diocese ng  Lucena, at Monsignor Noel Villareal, parish priest ng  Our Lady of Angels Parish Church sa Atimonan at ipinadala via email at  courier.

“Coal is poison. And we do not want this poison here. We hope that you would listen to our appeal and reverse your decision,” saad sa liham.

Sinabi ng mga nabanggit na church leaders, ang naging panawagan ni Pope Francis sa encyclical Laudato Si, kay  Singson na ihinto ang konstruksiyon ng planta  na naaayon sa tungkulin bilang isang Katoliko sa buong mundo at maglingkod bilang mga katiwala ng lumikha.

“There is no reason to build this new power plant when all projections point to a reduction in the demand for electricity due to the effects of COVID-19. And when the economy recovers, there is ample time to build a renewable energy alternative as a source of electricity,” ayon sa liham ng mga Pari.

Pahayag ng mga signatories, hindi sila naniniwala sa sinasabi ng Meralco na ang Atimonan power plant ay malinis, at iginiit na ang paggamit ng ‘coal’ o karbon ay sanhi ng polusyon, kahit anomang proseso ang gamitin para pagkunan ng elektirisidad.

“Unlike people in Metro Manila, where the ECQ brought a respite to air pollution, coal communities continued to suffer from the continued emission of coal-fired power plants, with the resulting effects on their health. As the priest of the parish that would be most affected by this power plant, I signed this letter in the hopes of protecting my parishioners from the sickness and environmental damage that coal will bring,” ayon kay Msgr. Villareal.

Ang karbon ay ikinokonsiderang pinakamaruming ‘fossil fuel’ na labis na nakasisira ng kapaligiran at malaking epekto sa kalikasan.

“We in the Power for People Coalition stand in complete unity behind the people of Quezon in their efforts to get rid of coal in their communities. We will continue to pursue all available means to ensure that the construction and operation of the Atimonan power plant will be stopped,” giit ni  Power for People Coalition (P4P) Convenor Gerry Arances.

Ang P4P ay nagsisilbing umbrella group ng clean energy advocates and power consumers, kasama ang  Church at mga kinatawan ng komunidad na naghain ng kanilang reklamo laban sa Atimonan coal project noong November 2019 sa Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), ngunit hanggang sa kasalukuyan ay wala pa umanong aksiyon ang nasabing ahensiya ng pamahalaan.