In a landmark decision the Court of Appeals cancelled permission for the bullying energy consortium RP Energy to build their potentially polluting power plant in Subic. Although the anti-coal plant group originally filed a writ of kalikasan and requested a temporary environmental protection order the court informed the parties in its decision that these measures can only be implemented AFTER construction of the power plant is complete and the pollution has already started, not before construction.
To prevent the construction from continuing the Court of Appeals instead canceled the permits issued for the construction, effectively preventing the arrogant potential mega polluter from continuing to build in the middle of a protect environmental zone.
In what was described by Subic Bay residents as "a deliberate and calculated act of deception" RP Energy quickly started distributing press releases that the case had failed effectively announcing themselves as the winner of the case! Nothing could be further from the truth residents responded in anti-coal Facebook pages.
Environment groups in Subic said that RP Energy was clearly trying to deceive banks and investors that had committed to the project without being aware of the likelihood of failure. They have thrown a lot of money and resources into a white elephant and are now trying to cover up their failure in the courts.
We are pretty sure this is not the end of the battle which if pursued will end up back in court.
