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BY HERBERT VEGO
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February 4, 2018
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AN ARGUMENT – or more correctly an alibi – presented by some senators to impose higher excise tax on coal through the Tax Reform for Acceleration Inclusion (TRAIN) law was that it would minimize patronage of “dirty” coal by power plants. As a result, excise tax on local coal this year would jump from ten pesos per cubic meter to P50; in the year 2019, P100; and in 2020, P150.
To reiterate what I said in a previous column, there was conflict of interest lurking behind Sen. Loren Legarda when she spearheaded the campaign to “penalize” Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC) for producing “dirty” coal: Her son Leandro Legarda Leviste owns Solar Philippines, which sells “clean” solar panels. Solar or energy from the sun, you see, is a threat to the viability of coal production.
Excessive coal taxation would bloat electricity bills, hence could be raised as an issue against “graduating” Senator Legarda, who is rumored to be gunning for a seat at the House, representing the lone district of Antique.
The coal produced by Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC) comprises 40 percent of the total coal used by coal-fired power plants in the Philippines.
Since Semirara Island in Caluya, Antique is the only mining site of local coal, Antiqueños had expected the “lady senator from Antique” to go gentle on SMPC, which is one of the nation’s biggest taxpayers and the biggest source of income for the province. Her view that coal is harmful to the environment no longer applies as far as coal-fired power plants in the Philippines are concerned.
Around ten years ago, I remember, a few physicians criticized then Iloilo City mayor Jerry Treñas for paying no attention to their request to form a committee to study the environmental hazards of coal. They were among the “environmentalists” who wanted to sway him into aborting the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Lapuz district on the pretext that coal emission would cause respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
On the other hand, when asked why they were ignoring the diesel and gas pollution that buses, cars, jeepneys and tricycles were guilty of, one of them simply quipped, “Ara na ina. It’s part of our lives.”
Another cited the 1,200-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Sual, Pangasinan for being “so polluted that the only fish left at sea thereat is the jellyfish.”
In response, the mayor and some of the city councilors personally paid visits to coal-fired power plants in the Philippines and Taiwan that had adopted the so-called “clean-coal technology.” Should they find those power plants hazardous to health, the mayor would abort the construction of Global Business Power Corporation’s coal-fired plant.
The then governor of Iloilo, the late Niel Tupas, sent a team of provincial officials and media men – including this writer — to the coal-fired Sual Power Station in Sual, Pangasinan
Contrary to the claim of the Ilonggo doctor, we saw no black smoke blowing out of the plant’s exhaust tower. And because the surrounding sea water was clean, more than a hundred fish-rich fish pens had flourished thereat.
Modern coal-fired power plants have special devices called scrubbers to clean the sulfur from the coal’s combustion before the gases go up the smokestack. The scrubbers rely on crushed limestone to absorb sulfur gases much like a sponge absorbs water. The limestone and sulfur combine to form a wet paste that cannot escape into the air. A chemical reaction turns sulfur gases into calcium sulfate — the stuff used in making cheap wallboard.
Yes, Senator Loren, you can promote your son’s solar power without extinguishing coal fire. (hvego31@gmail.com /PN)
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