Coal plants ‘must monitor air quality’

ILOILO CITY — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is calling on two coal-fired power plants in Panay Island to be transparent in their air quality monitoring.

To achieve that, DENR Regional Director for Western Visayas Jim Sampula said the Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) in Iloilo City and Panay Concepcion Power Corp. (PCPC) in northern Iloilo province must install real-time air monitoring devices.

The devices must be connected to the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) regional office for direct access to air quality index.

Sampulna said President Duterte wants coal-fired plants to utilize newer technologies to ensure that they fully comply with the Clean Air Act.

DENR is strictly monitoring the two plants in the light of DENR Secretary Gina Lopez’s campaign against mining firms that violate environmental laws.

DENRalso urged the two plants to conduct continuous health surveys to ensure that their operation does not harm surrounding communities.

“The needs of the people must be taken into consideration. We need to balance profit with environmental protection and sustainable development,” Sampulna said.

PEDC and PCPC supply electricity to Panay, Negros, Cebu, and Leyte islands.

PEDC is a subsidiary of Global Business Power Corp. (GBP), and PCPC is a subsidiary of A Brown Co. Inc. and Jin Navitas Resource Inc.