SECRETARY Roy Cimatu of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) breezed through Negros Oriental in an unexpected visit on Wednesday, August 9.
Cimatu and his party flew in from Davao City Wednesday morning and visited the Palinpinon geothermal power plants in Valencia, Negros Oriental, said Efren Rombaoa, the Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer chief.
Rombaoa said it was an unannounced visit by the DENR secretary.
A statement from Energy Development Corporation's (EDC) Corporate Affairs Head Ricky Carandang said EDC had “a standing invitation for Secretary Cimatu to do a familiarization tour of our facility.”
“He chose to go on an unplanned visit today,” said Carandang through SMS.
Cimatu also planted a Red Lauan (Shorea negrosensis) tree at the geothermal power plant site.
The DENR official also toured the facilities and was shown how geothermal power plants work.
Cimatu also visited a huge quarry site in Barangay Looc, Sibulan town, about 20 minutes drive north of Dumaguete City.
His visit came amid public clamor to have the quarry operations in Looc halted, as aerial photos showed how vast and wide the quarry area has become.
Cimatu then met with the DENR officials in Negros Oriental, as well as with DENR-Negros Island Region Director Livino Duran. (PNA)