From brewing beer to burning coal, the food and beer giant, San Miguel Corp. of tycoon Ramon Ang, is now one of the Philippines’ largest power producers. Its energy arm, San Miguel Global Power, is a younger player in the industry. But, flush with cash, it aggressively built, acquired, and expanded power plants over the...
Category: Environment
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In one small town, a coal plant may hold the key to Philippines’ dirty energy exit
Bulk carrier ships dot the coast of Villanueva, an industrial town in Misamis Oriental in the southern Philippines. Flying different flags, they deliver raw materials and industrial inputs—coal from Indonesia among them—to power plants and factories. They are constantly arriving, departing, or docking at jetties that jut from small piers. “The ships arrive regularly. The...
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The employment impact of a national ban on single-use plastic will be manageable
Negotiations for an international plastics treaty ended in failure last month, setting the stage for a new round of talks. Nevertheless, local environmental groups argue that no deal is better than a bad one or a watered-down treaty. An agreement could have nudged the Philippine government to finally enact a national ban on single-use plastic...
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In support of zero hunger through sustained, strengthened food rescue partnership
How to address hunger among Filipinos was the point of discussion at a recent Zero Summit led by Scholars of Sustenance (SOS) Philippines, a food rescue and environment foundation that saves good-quality surplus food and makes this available to vulnerable communities. Food insecurity remains a pressing issue in the Philippines with 27.2% of Filipinos experiencing...
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An Agta wedding in the Sierra Madre demonstrates the precarity of tradition
It was not yet 6 a.m. and I was bouncing on the back of a hired motorcycle (locally called habal) navigating the rocky, slippery mountain road that leads to the sitio in General Nakar, Quezon, where I was to attend an Agta wedding. I had taken a bus past midnight in Manila and arrived a...
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John Arcilla commits to fire prevention and advocates for the safety of the most vulnerable
Fires are breaking out everywhere, resulting in not only death and injury but also damage to property and homelessness. Like many other Filipinos, the multiawarded actor John Arcilla has had brushes with such life-threatening events—when fire engulfed the house across the street from the family home and when fire occurred just behind their walls. Seeing...
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Worried about the ‘Big One’? Here’s what can be done to prepare and protect your family and community
The devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar last March 28 and successive mild tremors in the Philippines have made many Filipinos fearful of the possibility of the “Big One.” The earthquake in Myanmar had its epicenter near Mandalay, its second largest city. United Nations aid officials put the latest casualty figures at 3,354 people killed...
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Shear line, the bearer of rains, explained
The shear line has been dominating national and local weather reports in recent days as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) predicts rainfall, thunderstorms, flooding, and even landslides in various parts of the country. In a forecast report released at 4 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 20, Pagasa said the shear line could...
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Mangroves offer refuge from climate risk to Sorsogon folk, whale sharks
DONSOL, Sorsogon—On his day off from his two jobs last November, after two strong typhoons battered the Bicol region including this coastal town popular among tourists eager for an “encounter” with whale sharks, Antolin Cuelana queued for relief goods at the basketball court in Barangay Ogod. The queue in Ogod, the largest barangay in Donsol,...
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Fishermen dive for sunken coal as clean-up resumes
SAN SALVADOR ISLAND, Zambales—At first glance, 60-year-old Fernando Avilla looked like he had been spearfishing for some time as he rested with his gear in his wooden boat. It was not fish in his net though but bits of coal he had retrieved underwater. Avila and most fishermen on San Salvador Island off Masinloc, Zambales,...