Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

38 PERSISTENT PROBLEMS, PROMISING SOLUTIONS AND BENEFICENCEprovision of handtractors) and social services (e.g.,quarterly medical outreach). These projects have beenconducted at the community level. Many affected villageheads(Barangay Captains) admitted that the initiativesthat the CBNC, together with the RTNMC, is doingfor the host community show a great improvement incomparison to what the RTNMC had done by itselfbefore CBNC came into this area for the HPP project.The people, however, voiced numerous complaints,such as the following:“When I went to the quarterly medical outreach,I could only get several tablets of paracetamol. Thetransportation cost to get to the venue was moreexpensive than what I could get there.”“We are now suffering from chronic headaches andcoughing. The medicine they provided in the quarterlymedical outreach is not for these.”“Most of the students who obtained scholarships arethe children of village or tribal officials.”“It seems that the handtractor was provided to thecommunity. But I am not sure about it. The tribalchieftain might be using it by himself.”Since the proponent planned the SDMP without anyconsultation with or participation by the people in thebeneficiary communities, it eventually failed to meetthe local people’s demands. Furthermore, the SDMPhas been of benefit to some local political leaders, suchas village-heads and tribal chieftains, and their closesupporters. Meanwhile, there are certainly groups whohave not enjoyed the benefits of the SDMP. As a result,the SDMP has led to a split within the community andhas increasingly marginalized the people who are not inthe mainstream of local politics.Case study 2: Mindanao Coal-fired Power PlantProject in the PhilippinesThe 210 Megawatt Mindanao Coal-fired Power Plant isan Independent Power Producer (IPP) project aimed atsettling the allegedly imminent power shortage in 2006in Mindanao. It is owned by Steag State Power Inc.(SPI), a joint venture of a Filipino company and theSteag AG of Germany, which supplied the technologyand technical expertise in building the plant. The projectcost was USD300 million. The plant was constructedin the municipality of Villanueva, Misamis Oriental,which is 25 kilometers outside Cagayan de Oro City. Itis located inside the 3,000-hectare Phividec IndustrialEstate-Misamis Oriental (PIE-MO) where there aremany people who make their living through agricultureand fishing. The project proceeded as scheduled and theSPI started its commercial operations in 2006.While the implementor is the SPI led by the Steag AG,the Japanese consortium of Sojitsu and Kawasaki HeavyIndustries won the order for boilers, turbines and otherequipment.Health hazards and environmental damageLocal people are concerned about health hazards causedby the air pollution they encounter throughout thelength of their life span due to plant emissions suchas total suspended particles (TSP), nitrogen oxide(NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Another concernwas the high possibility that the power plant wouldalso contribute to hazardous environmental damagedue to high levels of mercury and other heavy metals(e.g., arsenic, chromium, lead) in the effluents. Despitequestions being raised by the local people, the topic oftoxic heavy metals was never addressed in the publicconsultations.Involuntary resettlementSome 130 households, most of whom were landlessfarmers in the PIE-MO, were relocated out of theplant site. There is a big question of whether or notthe compensation scheme for such resettlement willimprove or at least restore their living standards. Forexample, the compensation standard for demolishedstructures in the relocation packages of the responsiblegovernmental agency, PHIVIDEC, is 10 percent ofthe appraisal value of a structure to be demolished.This does not meet international standards, such as theWorld Bank Operational Policy 4.12, which stipulatesthat the depreciation of structures and assets should notbe taken into account. The people were provided onlya disturbance fee amounting to PhP6,000.00. Some ofthe families were provided a house in the resettlementsite that has a mere area of 54 square meters.These resettled people were promised “priority ofemployment” in the project. Some people, however,were refused due to their age or lack of sufficienteducation. The people who were not supportive of thecurrent presiding local politician also had difficultyaccessing job opportunities. Even though some peoplewere employed, they were fired after a few months anddid not receive permanent or regular employment. Afterthe construction phase, a great deal fewer local peoplehave been employed.Asian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows