We read with interest the letter of response written by SBMA Chairman Bobby Garcia to Alex Hermoso regarding the RP Energy funded Coal Fired Power Plant planned for Redondo peninsula.
If you haven't yet read it CLICK HERE to view it.
In his letter Chairman Garcia says:
“...Rest assured, the SBMA is
very much aware of the opposition mounted by the various stakeholders
to the project. In response, the SBMA, in cooperation with the key
entities behind the project, have been exerting
efforts to include additional measures for efficiency, safety and
environmental soundness of the project to better achieve its purposes as
an environment friendly power generation project..."
We must commend the efforts Chairman Garcia and the new SBMA board in tackling some of the tough issues they have inherited, but this task seems to be made much more difficult because of the misinformation and propaganda being fed to them by RP Energy.
On September 9 RP Energy gave the SBMA board their "dog and pony" show, presenting how little effect the power plant would have by focusing on air emissions. According to observers there were a few questions from the SBMA board and RP Energy breezed through its show, with a lack of experts present there was not much of a challenge.
This was not the case on September 12 when RP Energy attempted the same "show" on Freeport locators.
Although RP Energy wanted to focus on air emissions, locators, especially those from the tourism sector were more interested to discuss the visual impact and damage below the water line.
RP Energy admitted to locators that they did not have answers to these concerns, that in fact the major concerns of the tourism sector were very real and largely being ignored by all concerned.
RP Energy claims that the effect on the water is minimal because the water around the power-plant will only be 3 degrees hotter than the rest of the bay and showed models of the heat drift only at neutral tide. This is however not the main damage that the power-plant does to the water of the bay.
As pointed out my a marine biologist from one Subic Bay Locator, the water sucked into the powerplant contains plankton, microorganisms and miniature marine life that is essential to the ecosystem of the bay. While RP Energy claims fishing will not be effected in the bay as fish will not get sucked into the water intakes this is a complete perversion of the facts.
Without plankton and the micro marine eco system the water is DEAD, the fish will certainly go away to find new feeding grounds, the corals and sponges will starve and the fish infested wreaks that thousands of divers come to see in Subic Bay will lay deserted.
The water that is sucked in at thousands of gallons per hour to the power-plant is heated to extreme temperatures while cooling the 800 degree plant before being dumped back into the bay, heating the bay water to high temperature destroys everything within the water, it breaks the eco system. When the water comes out of the power-station it is similar to distilled water, it has been divested of all minerals and living things.
Having a power-station at the mouth of Subic Bay is like flushing Subic Bay with Distilled water, as the incoming tide comes in, dead water from the power-plant is circulated into the bay, breaking the ecosystem. At the September 12 meeting representatives of RP Energy admitted that
this is the case and that there "is nothing they can do about it", killing the marine life was essential to generating power.
While pumping hundreds of thousands of liters of dead water into the ocean is one thing, pumping it into the mouth of the most famous "protected" bays in Asia that is heralded as a tourism destination is repugnant.
Representatives of the Tourism sector begged RP Energy that if they must build a power-plant to not build it facing into a bay, not discharge into our inland waterway, to move it outside of the bay, but representatives of RP Energy declared that the site is not perfect and does have some serious downsides but they insisted the location was chosen for them by SBMA, it is not their choice of site.
While RP Energy keeps saying "there is nothing we can do about it", maybe there is something that Chairman Garcia and the SBMA board can do about it, THEY CAN SAVE OUR BAY!
Chairman Garcia, respectfully, there is simply no way this can be an "environmentally sound project", the belief that it can be expressed in your letter indicates the project has been pushed through without the SBMA board being given all the information that it should have been, you have taken steps that we all applaud to ensure this doesn't happen again, but the construction on the current site should not be allowed to proceed. If it is beyond your power to stop the construction of the power-plant altogether then please please please MOVE IT AWAY FROM THE BAY WATERS!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Kalayaan no Longer Secure
Comment from a reader:
This is also a security matter when 5 times as many cars enter the subdivision.
[The Subic Bulletin] Yesterday we observed convoys of pickups passing through the subdivision with workers loaded in the back. At the checkpoint no ID's were asked for. Whats to stop these vehicles passing through loaded with undocumented workers stopping off in the subdivision?
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Monkeys Attracted to the Rubbish
Comment from a Reader:
Yes, the monkeys were here before all of us and we should be pleased that Subic Bay is one of the few places where wild monkeys can still be seen in the Philippines (but we have the Americans to thank for that).
And I agree that there is an issue, but the issue is with the humans and not the monkeys. The principal problem, as I see it, is with domestic rubbish (garbage) which provides a food source for the monkeys. It's not unusual to see them patrolling on collection day because being superb opportunists they soon learn when to take advantage. Of course, if they were denied access to the rubbish then they wouldn't bother with it and would confine their activities to the fruit on the trees.
Yes, the monkeys were here before all of us and we should be pleased that Subic Bay is one of the few places where wild monkeys can still be seen in the Philippines (but we have the Americans to thank for that).
And I agree that there is an issue, but the issue is with the humans and not the monkeys. The principal problem, as I see it, is with domestic rubbish (garbage) which provides a food source for the monkeys. It's not unusual to see them patrolling on collection day because being superb opportunists they soon learn when to take advantage. Of course, if they were denied access to the rubbish then they wouldn't bother with it and would confine their activities to the fruit on the trees.
However, there are a considerable number of residents within Subic who just don't seem to be bright enough to make the connection that if you place your rubbish in open top bins or even worse, in plastic sacks, then the monkeys will rifle through it all and scatter your rubbish all over the place. Really, it seems to me that the monkeys are considerably brighter than some of the residents.
Once a food source has been provided the monkeys will then start to look for it, even if that means raiding houses.
Even more serious are those that actively encourage the monkeys and feed them. I've not seen or experienced this myself but I believe it goes on.
If the SBMA really wanted to make a difference and improve the monkey/resident relationship they could start by ruthlessly enforcing the rules and fining those who fail to properly secure their rubbish. But we all know that's not going to happen.
It's the humans that need controlling, not the monkeys
Once a food source has been provided the monkeys will then start to look for it, even if that means raiding houses.
Even more serious are those that actively encourage the monkeys and feed them. I've not seen or experienced this myself but I believe it goes on.
If the SBMA really wanted to make a difference and improve the monkey/resident relationship they could start by ruthlessly enforcing the rules and fining those who fail to properly secure their rubbish. But we all know that's not going to happen.
It's the humans that need controlling, not the monkeys
Friday, September 16, 2011
Is Kite Power the Answer
Comment from a reader:
Minesto, a Swedish firm, has developed a new method--a sea kite--for harnessing the energy of tidal currents. Go to:
http://www.robaid.com/tech/minestos-underwater-kite-could-harness-tidal-energy.htm;http://minesto.com/
There are currently two tidal energy systems being employed around the world. One is tidal barrages, which use technology similar to that found in hydropower stations, and the other is tidal stream systems, which use the motion of the tide and work like wind turbines.
The sea kite--called "Deep Green"--consists of a 3-foot-long turbine attached to a rudder and 39-foot wingspan tethered to the ocean floor with a 330 foot cable. Compared to other tidal energy designs, this sea kite is small, which means its turbine rotates fast and functions better in greater depths. Anchoring and steering the sea kite allows it to capture much more energy. The kite travels 10 times faster then the water it operates in, resulting in 1000 times more energy.
While the tide forces the kite to move, an automatic rudder system controls the device's trajectory. The control system also monitors for depth, turbulence, and large objects nearby. To avoid interference with ship traffic, and for environmental concerns, Minesto says the kites would also "fly" at least 65 feet below the surface.
Once operational, each Deep Green kite is expected to generate 500 KW of power while it glides with the tide.
Deep Green requires a minimum depth of water of 60 meters. It just so happens that 63 meters is the depth of the water directly off
Macmany Point at the mouth of Subic Bay. If an array 12 sea kites were installed on the ocean floor at that location, their output would equal that of the 600 KW coal fired power plant, but without the air pollution.
How to accomplish this? The National Government should enact a law granting the operators of the new coal fired plant a credit against their tax liabilities in the amount of all expenditures made by the operators for the installation, maintenance, and repair of an array of these sea kites at the mouth of Subic Bay. To replace the revenues lost, the National Government should impose a tax on the new power plant which would be due if minimum emissions levels are exceeded, commencing when the new coal fired plant goes on line. This will provide an incentive to the operators of the coal plant to install the sea kites. Once the sea kites start generating power, the tax on emissions will encourage the operator of the plant strive to generate power using the sea kites, instead of coal, reducing emissions. However, it can be expected that the sea kites will experience some teething problems. Moreover, power from the sea kites will fall, but predictably so, during periods of 'slack water'. The coal fired plant can serve as a backup, assuring reliability of the power supply to customers.
The National Renewable Energy Board already has a petition pending before the Energy Regulatory Commission seeking approval of a tariff of 17.65 Php/kWh for electricity from ocean sources. Go to: http://www.evc.gov.ph?pdf/NREBPetition-FIT).pdf
For a description of how circulating fluidized bed coal fired plants can be "cycled" to take into account fluctuations in power provided by renewable sources, go to: http://www.johnkengineering.com/techinfo.htm#_Cycling_Operation_of
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
How did a Power Plant end up in a PROTECTED AREA?
At Mondays meeting between PR Energy representatives and Subic Freeport locators, representatives repeatedly stated that Redondo Penninsula was zoned industrial by SBMA, but when did that happen?
In 2000 SBMA created a master plan for Subic Bay which focused activities in the Freeport of Tourism and Light industry. The Redondo Penninsula was declared as a protected buffer zone to protect the asset of the environment so Subic Bay could flourish as a tourism destination. Many Subic Bay locators including Ocean Adventure declared that this was the basis for them investing in Subic Bay.
The management team assigned to manage the "protected" area was also the SBMA board of directors. A huge conflict of interest one might say.
In 2010, when Aboitiz was pushing to build a power plant inside SBMA territory, as according to Aboitiz Chairman ECC certificates are easier to get from Freeport Zones than from LGU's the SBMA board amazingly decided to "rezone" a protected area to "Heavy Industrial" just to accommodate the Power Plant project which is now under the Meralco lead RP Energy consortium.
But what happened to the sworn duties of the SBMA board to act as the Protected Area Management Committee? did the shining dollars distract them from their duty to manage the protected area?
More importantly did the SBMA board sit as the Protected Area Management Committee and consider the best interests of redondo peninsula and Subic Bay before filling a resolution for it to no longer be a protected area? According to SBMA representatives there is no record of this.
How can the same team set up to mange a protected area decide to make it a heavy industrial area without due process?
When this questions was asked to RP Energy officials at Monday meetings there response was shocking!
They said "We can not continue this discussion without legal advice!"
SBMA has now a new board and feedback from all quarters is that this is one of the best board of directors we could have hoped for, so we hope that the current board of directors will put on their Protect Area Management Committee hats and ask how the previous board could have rezoned the very land they were entrusted to protect, especially without the consent of investors that had come in to the area on the basis of the protected area.
We understand that the current board has a lot of things to clean up but this issue needs their attention.
In 2000 SBMA created a master plan for Subic Bay which focused activities in the Freeport of Tourism and Light industry. The Redondo Penninsula was declared as a protected buffer zone to protect the asset of the environment so Subic Bay could flourish as a tourism destination. Many Subic Bay locators including Ocean Adventure declared that this was the basis for them investing in Subic Bay.
The management team assigned to manage the "protected" area was also the SBMA board of directors. A huge conflict of interest one might say.
In 2010, when Aboitiz was pushing to build a power plant inside SBMA territory, as according to Aboitiz Chairman ECC certificates are easier to get from Freeport Zones than from LGU's the SBMA board amazingly decided to "rezone" a protected area to "Heavy Industrial" just to accommodate the Power Plant project which is now under the Meralco lead RP Energy consortium.
But what happened to the sworn duties of the SBMA board to act as the Protected Area Management Committee? did the shining dollars distract them from their duty to manage the protected area?
More importantly did the SBMA board sit as the Protected Area Management Committee and consider the best interests of redondo peninsula and Subic Bay before filling a resolution for it to no longer be a protected area? According to SBMA representatives there is no record of this.
How can the same team set up to mange a protected area decide to make it a heavy industrial area without due process?
When this questions was asked to RP Energy officials at Monday meetings there response was shocking!
They said "We can not continue this discussion without legal advice!"
SBMA has now a new board and feedback from all quarters is that this is one of the best board of directors we could have hoped for, so we hope that the current board of directors will put on their Protect Area Management Committee hats and ask how the previous board could have rezoned the very land they were entrusted to protect, especially without the consent of investors that had come in to the area on the basis of the protected area.
We understand that the current board has a lot of things to clean up but this issue needs their attention.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Terrorized by Monkeys in Your Own Home
Question from a reader:
I am sure many living at the various Heights in Subic have the same problem as we have.
This morning a metal screen on the patio door was 'smashed' by the MONKEYS, it was scratched and destroyed.
Increasingly they are causing more and more damage.
Folks are saying that if they leave a window open the monkeys get into the house and cause huge damage, disruption and smash bottles to get at their contents.
Increasingly they are aggressive, they stare at you from a short distance and show their teeth menacingly.
This must frighten children.
My questions are.
1. What are other peoples experiences.
2. What is the position SBMA take regarding the monkeys
3. I understand the monkeys are protected by SBMA.
4. Are there any circumstances where a CULL could be arranged by SBMA and would they carry this out.
Typically SBMA wont do anything but say, well the monkey were here first and we are in their home. However, in most cases when bad behavior is experienced by the monkeys there is a ring leader, once he is removed they all move on, which has on occasions forced residents to take their own course of action to resolve the problem.
For residents inside Subic Bay Freeport there is a Facebook group that was started by Kalayaan Resident JC Delos Reyes to discuss issues like this here is the link http://www.facebook.com/SubicBayResidents
Friday, September 2, 2011
SPED School May Drag Down The Gifted Children
Comments from a reader:
I don't believe the call for an SBMA investigation into SPED will go anywhere, as I suspect the children of influential base officials are enrolled there.
A couple of points to consider:
Does the Tagalog requirement mean that some of the classes are taught in that language? Foreign students who will later attend high school and college outside of the Philippines need an education that is well grounded in English, not Tagalog.
If students are being admitted based upon ties of family or friendship rather than intellectual capability, this suggests that the level of instruction must be lowered and the pace of learning slowed. A truly gifted child would be stifled in such an environment
It may be that the education of foreign students would be better served at Brent or Montessori.
Your point is very valid that as the level of education is being lowered to accommodate friends and family children are better off elsewhere, lucky that the Subic Bay Freeport has Brent, Montessori and don't forget FIRST, all excellent schools that can help the gifted children to shine.
I don't believe the call for an SBMA investigation into SPED will go anywhere, as I suspect the children of influential base officials are enrolled there.
A couple of points to consider:
Does the Tagalog requirement mean that some of the classes are taught in that language? Foreign students who will later attend high school and college outside of the Philippines need an education that is well grounded in English, not Tagalog.
If students are being admitted based upon ties of family or friendship rather than intellectual capability, this suggests that the level of instruction must be lowered and the pace of learning slowed. A truly gifted child would be stifled in such an environment
It may be that the education of foreign students would be better served at Brent or Montessori.
Lessons are primarily in English so the effected parents were dumbfounded as to why such a high importance was placed on Tagalog.
The "failure" in Tagalog was not that the students could not speak Tagalog just that they did not score high marks for Tagalog eg score of 78/100, the children rejected where all fluent Tagalog speakers but as they were fluent in multiple languages they were not as strong in Tagalog as children who ONLY spoke Tagalog. Must be the only school in the world that disadvantages children for speaking multiple languages!
Your point is very valid that as the level of education is being lowered to accommodate friends and family children are better off elsewhere, lucky that the Subic Bay Freeport has Brent, Montessori and don't forget FIRST, all excellent schools that can help the gifted children to shine.
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