SUAL, Pangasinan– The mayor of Sual in Pangasinan has slammed a group opposing the construction of a second coal-fired power plant here with the claim that it could pollute the local environment.
Sual Mayor Roberto Arcinue on Wednesday dared the Save Sual Movement to prove their allegations that the present Sual coal-fired power plant is polluting the surrounding areas.
The plant located in Barangay Pangascasan generates 1,200 megawatts of power for the Luzon Grid.
The proposed second power plant in Sual to be located in Baquioen Bay within the Lingayen Gulf will have a generating capacity of 1,000 megawatts.
He said the Save Sual Movement does not have any evidence or document to prove their allegation that the existing Sual coal-fired power plant is causing pollution.
“If there is really pollution, how come fish thrive in hundreds of fish cages beside the power plant,” said Arcinue in a press statement.
The town of Sual is home to some 750 world-class fish cages located in Sual Bay near the power plant that produce about 60 metric tons of bangus (milkfish) daily being sold to major fish markets in Metro Manila.
He said that in Barangay Pangascasan, farmers have been enjoying good rice and vegetable harvests averaging from 80 to 120 sacks of rice per hectare.
“Where is the pollution they are saying?” Arcinue asked.
Arcinue stressed the taxes being collected from the operation of the power plant enabled the municipality to become a first class town from being fourth class before.
Because of these taxes the municipal government was able to implement various development programs and projects that have improved the lives of the people of the town, he said.
With the Sual coal-fired power plant, hundreds of residents have found well-paying jobs in this facility, he added.
The mayor is confident that with the construction of another coal-fired power plant in Barangay Baquioen, more development programs and projects would be pursued by the municipal government that would certainly benefit the Sual residents. (PNA)
