The Negros Occidental Sangguniang Panlalawigan is seeking the opinion of the Provincial Legal Office (PLO) and Provincial Environment Management Office (PEMO) on the call for its retraction of a Resolution of Non-Objection (RONO) to a 300 MW Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Combined Cycle Power Plant in San Carlos City, Board Member Manuel Frederick Ko said Tuesday, July 26.
The SP during its regular session Tuesday took up the letter of San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza and other environmentalists addressed to Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer and the Sanggunian members demanding their urgent retraction of the RONO.
The building of the LNG power plant is being proposed by the San Miguel Corp.-owned Reliance Energy Development Inc.
“We maintain that the resolution of non-objection from the Provincial Board is premature, invalid, and is not representative of the multiple stakeholders from San Carlos who openly objected to the LNG project during the public scoping,” Alminaza said in his objection to the RONO.
Alminaza said that the Environmental Impact Assessment of the project is “still under preparation” by the proponent, and that the Department of the Interior and Local Government Memorandum Circular (DILG MC) 22-018 states that LGUs cannot issue a Letter of No Objection without an EIA, therefore deeming the RONA invalid.
Ko, SP Environment Committee chairman, said they are seeking the legal opinion of the PLO on DILG MC 22-018.
They are also seeking the comment of the Provincial Environment Management Office on the EIA in connection with MC 22-018, he added.
The PLO and PEMO have been given five working days to submit their comments for the guidance of the SP, Ko said.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson also said on Sunday that he has asked the PLO to study the call of Alminaza to revoke the RONO.*