CA JUNKS WRIT OF KALIKASAN CASE VS. RP ENERGY
The 15th Division of the Court of Appeals (CA) has dismissed the Writ of Kalikasan case against Redondo Peninsula Energy’s
(RP Energy) 600-MW coal-fired power plant project at Redondo Peninsula on the other side, from the central business district, of Subic Bay within the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.
The Court denied the petition on the grounds that the petitioners failed to prove that their right to a balanced and healthful ecology was violated or threatened with violation and that any damage would affect the lives of locals in two or more cities or provinces, according to the 101-page decision penned by Associate Justice Celia Librea-Leagogo, .
The case was filed before the Supreme Court on July 20, 2012 by party-list representatives led by Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino and some Olongapo City-based oppositors to the project.
Respondents included RP Energy, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). The case was later remanded to the Court of Appeals which held hearings from November 5 to December 14 of last year.
The Court of Appeals also junked the Petitioners’ application for an environmental protection order for failing to show that the matter is of extreme urgency and petitioners will suffer grave injustice and irreparable injury.
In its decision, the court emphasized that the burden of proof in the case lies with the petitioners and they were unable to discharge this burden. It added that RP Energy’s power plant project has not yet been constructed and there is no proof its CFB (circulating fluidized bed) technology will cause environmental damage.
According to Justice Leagogo, the petitioners only presented three witnesses led by Rep. Palatino and none of whom were experts on environmental matters.
Respondent RP Energy, on the other hand, presented several witnesses to back up the power plant’s CFB technology.
This is the first Writ of Kalikasan case against a power project and will most likely be a precedent for similar cases in the future. A power industry insider said the decision is a relief for proponents of other planned power projects that were being threatened with similar cases. He added that it also helps ensure that the government and private sector will be able to address the growing need for a stable, reliable and competitively-priced supply of power.
The decision likewise upheld the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) power to amend Environmental Compliance Certificates (ECC) based on DENR Administrative Order No. 2003-30.
The court explained that this power is inherent since the DENR is given the authority and duty to grant or deny ECCs as the primary government agency responsible for the management of the environment.
The Court of Appeals however deemed defective the project’s old DENR-issued ECC and the SBMA’s lease and development agreement with RP Energy for not having complied with certain requirements.
“We presented overwhelming evidence that the power plant project will not cause any adverse environmental impact. It will utilize state-of the-art technology and RP Energy took great care in complying with all the requirements for the issuance and amendments of the ECC as required by the DENR”, explained Atty. George Aquino of the ACCRA Law Office, counsel for RP Energy. -30-