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By Ma. Ester L. Espina, Correspondent
BACOLOD CITY: In an apparent signal to stop
meddling in local affairs, Gov. Isidro Zayco of Negros Occidental
questioned the authority of Sen. Pia Cayetano urging him to defer
the signing of a memorandum of agreement with the Energy Development
Corp. (EDC) with regards to the latter’s geothermal development
expansion into the buffer zone of Mount Kanlaon National Park.
“Who is Sen. Cayetano to block me in signing
the MOA with EDC since I already have the authority from the
Sangguniang Panlalawigan to do it thereby ensuring that we protect
our natural park as we answer our need for power,” Zayco said.
The debate on EDC’s entry to the buffer zone
has sparked opposition from environmental groups and some members of
the Church but also gathered massive support from the business
sector and local government units who saw the need for a stable
power source for Negros Occidental by 2010.
EDC’s entry to the buffer zone is allowed by
law and has been given tree-cutting permit by the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to pave the way for
extracting geothermal steam which can be found underneath the buffer
zone.
The cutting of trees however has worried the
opposition who claims that this will affect the park’s
biodiversity.
But six months into the hearing of arguments
from both sides, the provincial council gave their nod to EDC with
certain provisions included in the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to
ensure that EDC remains within the 12.5 hectares they sought for in
the buffer zone.
Environmental group, Green Alert, has been
calling for support to their cause, the most recent of which was the
office of Sen. Cayetano after they failed to muster enough support
in Negros Occidental.
Cayetano who chairs the Senate’s environment
committee sent a letter to Green Alert assuring them of her support
in their crusade of protecting Mt. Kanlaon.
She also sent letters to DENR Sec. Lito Atienza
and EDC President Paul Aquino asking them to defer the cutting of
trees inside the buffer zone until issues are clarified, intimating
that she will call for a senate inquiry into the matter.
But Zayco retorted that Cayetano should “first
read the MOA before making a noise,” adding that the MOA would
“actually ensure that EDC will safeguard the buffer zone.”
In a statement sent by Cayetano’s
chief-of-staff, Ermin Garcia, he said the senator supports the
“search for alternative energy but that in doing so all laws must
be fully complied with.”
“For this reason, and to clarify the
contentious issues surrounding the planned entry of PNOC into the
buffer zone, she is calling for a senate hearing where all concerned
and interested parties can present their respective cases with the
end view of determining what is allowed by law in the best interests
of the environment, community and country,” the statement added.
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