Iligan City, Philippines — Residents of Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte are desperately gasping for clean air.Affected residents, vulnerable sectors, community, and other concerned environmental organizations, filed their opposition letter to the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 10 demanding the urgent need to respond to the threat of the proposed construction of GNPower Ltd. Co.’s 600-megawatt (MW) Kauswagan LNG (liquefied natural gas) project in Brgy. Tacub, Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte.
“Putting another fossil gas-based energy in Kauswagan, especially in Barangay Tacub, is already dangerous, when in fact, the concern of existing and operating coal-fired power plant has yet to be resolved. An additional fossil gas plant should not be allowed,” Rosalinda Gentiles Calaca, President of the Tacub Homeless Initiatives in Keeping its Rights (THINK) said.
Kauswagan already hosts GNPower’s 540 MW coal-fired power plant in Brgy. Libertad and Tacub which started operations in 2019.
The proposed LNG plant will be constructed in close proximity to the existing coal plant.
Subsequently, GNPower proposed an LNG plant to further increase its capacity in generating electrical power.
However, the peak energy demand for Mindanao for the whole year (2024) reached 2,577 MW while its installed capacity is 4,614.5 MW with a dependable capacity of 4,020.4 MW.
The reserves should not be less than 150 MW before the level goes into yellow alert.
Based on the data above, Mindanao has an excess dependable capacity of 1,463.4 MW.
This disproves GNPower’s argument that another dirty plant is needed to increase its energy capacity.
The residents asserted that the existing coal plant has already caused significant ecological harm.
A fish sanctuary on the coal plant’s current location, according to a certificate issued by the Nagkahiusang Mananagat sa Barangay Libertad Association on October 8, 2024, gave way to the construction of the port of the coal plant, leading to a drastic reduction in fish stocks and severely impacting the livelihood of local fishermen.
“When the coal-fired power plant of GNPower was established in 2014 in Brgy. Libertad, Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte, the fish sanctuary there was out and erased. It caused the reduction of more than 60 percent of our fish catch, which dislocated our means of living,” Alejandro Candilado, member of the Fishermen Association in Libertad, explained.
The signatories of the opposition letter assailed the construction of the LNG power plant as they claim that it will endanger the environment, health, and livelihood of the residents of Kauswagan.
The DENR 10 has issued a certification on Oct. 21, 2024 that the Liangan-Lipatan River Mangrove Swamp Forest Reserve (formerly Bacolod-Kauswagan Protected Landscape and Seascape), is a Protected Area pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 2152 dated Dec. 29, 1981, and Sec. 5, par. 1 of Republic Act (RA) No. 7586 dated June 1, 1992, as amended by RA 11038, also known as the “Expanded ENIPAS of 2018”.
The petitioners further raised concerns on the proposed LNG plant’s proximity to the reserve as this is home to diverse species and plays a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance, and is already negatively affected by pollution released into the river from the nearby coal plant, leading to the destruction of marine ecosystems and the degradation of the mangrove forests.
The reserve is also classified as an Environmentally Critical Area, making it highly vulnerable to industrial activity.
“DENR-EMB should prioritize the life and health of Kauswaganons over proposed fossil gas projects. The Government must consider oppositions such as this, as well as taking up their job to identify and develop other sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives to augment the country’s power supply. As the climate crisis worsens, we should take care of what’s left with our planet and environment,” PMCJ Mindanao Coordinator Rara Ada said.
