RESIDENTS, civil society, and church groups have opposed the plan to construct wind turbines in a forested, protected, and watershed area in Calbayog City, Samar province.
Eleen Lim, president of Save Calbayog Rivers Foundation Concerted Effort (Sacrifice) Inc., said they also organized a signature campaign “because the public was never informed about the project.”
“There was no real public hearing, no real consultation where the people should have been informed about the destruction that would be done to our protected landscape,” Lim told SunStar Philippines.
In just two weeks since they launched their signature drive, Lim’s group has already gathered more than 6,000 signatures.
“Much more are coming in, since the priests of Vicariate I of the Diocese of Calbayog have issued the call for support (on October 26) during the celebration of the Holy Mass,” Lim disclosed.
“The people have spoken — the affected communities, the Church, the youth, and various civil society groups. Their voices reflect a deep concern for the protection of our forest and the preservation of Calbayog’s only remaining source of clean and safe drinking water,” said Ricky Bautista, president of the newly formed Region 8 Media-Citizen Council Inc., whose vision includes upholding social and environmental responsibility in Eastern Visayas.
“The Council recognizes that while renewable energy development is vital in addressing the global climate crisis, it must not come at the expense of the environment and the well-being of local communities,” Bautista said in a statement on October 28.
According to the media council, the construction of 37 large industrial wind turbines — 13 of which are proposed to be erected within the Calbayog Pan-as Hayiban Protected Landscape (CPHPL) — “will lead to deforestation, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, and the potential contamination of the vital watershed.”
“This area is not merely a piece of land but a living ecosystem that provides essential water, food, and balance for both people and wildlife... True development must protect, not destroy, the environment,” Bautista said.
Gina Dean, an environmental advocate and educator, reported that community members have expressed their fear about the project, saying it “could lead to the cutting of over 5,000 trees and threaten the city’s water source.”
“The approval of the project now hinges on the Certificate of No Objection from barangay (village) officials within the vicinity,” Dean wrote in an op-ed article published in The Weekly Vanguard newspaper.
Meanwhile, the Gemini Wind Energy Corp. (GWEC) clarified that no wind turbine or project component is located within the CPHPL’s Strict Protection Zone (SPZ).
“All proposed installations are confined to Multiple-Use Zones (MUZ), consistent with the zoning approved by the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) and verified through geospatial analysis. These zones allow development activities compatible with conservation objectives,” the company said in a statement to the media on October 15.
According to the company, the CPHPL has a total area of 5,067.93 hectares, of which 1,926.94 hectares comprise the MUZ.
Of the total MUZ, GWEC has applied for a Special Use Agreement in Protected Areas (SAPA) covering 139.27 hectares, of which only 24 hectares will be used for the wind project.
This is only 0.48 percent of the total CPHPL area, the company said.
“The principal driver of climate change and biodiversity loss is the burning of fossil fuels. Renewable energy projects like the Gemini Wind Power Project are vital to cutting carbon emissions, lessening air pollution, and safeguarding ecosystems for future generations. Transitioning to clean energy is a moral and scientific imperative, not an ecological threat,” it added.
More opposition
On October 26, concerned residents and groups in the city joined a protest march to voice their opposition to the project.
Christ the King College of Calbayog City Inc. also expressed its “deep concern and moral stance” on the windmill project.
“Guided by the Franciscan Charism for the Care of Creation, we are called ‘to defend the dignity of every creature and to resist any form of ecological or social oppression.’ To harm creation, therefore, is to wound the reflection of the Creator in our midst,” the college said in a statement.
“We call for transparency, inclusive consultation, and ethical discernment in all stages of the Gemini Windmill Project. Every initiative for progress must be anchored in the principles of integral ecology—that is, development which uplifts both the people and the planet,” it added.
Among those supporting the call are Vicariate I of the Diocese of Calbayog, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines–Samar Chapter, Samar Community of Religious and Diocesan Ex-Seminarians, Christ the King College of Calbayog Inc., and Samar Medical Society–Calbayog Chapter. (Ronald Reyes/SunStar Philippines)