PACQUIAO MISINFORMED ON POWER PLANT, SAYS PROJECT BUILDER
MANILA, FEBRUARY 23, 2010 (STAR) By Donnabelle Gatdula - The company planning to build a $450-million power plant in Maasim, Sarangani said that world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao was misinformed about the project.Pacquiao, who is running for congressman in Sarangani, opposed the construction of the coal-fired plant because of potential damage to the environment.
Conal Holdings vice president for business development Joseph Nocos said the 200-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant will use modern technology that will keep emissions and particulates well within the limits required by the Philippine Clean Air Act.
“The concerns raised by Pacquiao are more than adequately addressed by the design and technology of our power station,” Nocos explained.
Pacquiao is the executive director of Task Force Luwas Kinaiyahan (TFLK), or “save the environment” in the Cebuano dialect.
TFLK, which claims they have Pacquiao’s full support, suggested using the jathropa plant as biomass feed for the power plant, but Conal Holdings said this was impractical.
“We might as well plant jathropa in every inch of land in Sarangani to fire up our boilers if we go by the suggestion of Pacquiao’s advisers to use jathropa,” Nocos said.
While jathropa can be used to produce biodiesel that could be mixed with petroleum diesel, the technology to economically produce and refine this feedstock has yet to be developed and put to commercial use.
According to the scientific journal Nature, “none of the jathropa species has been properly domesticated and, as a result, its productivity is variable, and the long-term impact of its large-scale use on soil quality and the environment is unknown.”
Jathropa consumes four times more water than sugar cane and corn, according to Times Online, raising questions on its sustainability.
Conal Holdings said based on its studies, there are no readily available hyro or geothermal sources in the region that could generate 200 MW of electricity.
“Still, we are planning to build a 17-MW three-tiered mini-hydro plant along the Siguel River in Maasim and possibly another 35-MW plant along Kalaong River in Maitum, all in Sarangani,” Nocos further revealed.
“There is absolutely no basis to the claim that our plant will produce acid rain,” Nocos noted.
He added the power station will use low-sulfur coal and the circulating fluidized bed combustion technology that it will use will effectively capture the sulfur dioxide that causes acid rain.
“We are committed to keep our emissions at levels way below the ceilings set by the Philippine Clean Air Act and the World Bank standards,” he explained.
Nocos also said their commitment to establish a 7,500-hectare watershed and reforestation development program to mitigate carbon dioxide emission is borne out of the company’s commitment to the fight against global warming.
“Ultimately, the best proof that our power station is safe for the environment and for people is the preponderance of similar plants that have been operating in the United States, Japan, South Korea, and other developed countries for years with outstanding environmental compliance and safety records.”
No botox for Lito Lapid By Nonong Baliao (The Philippine Star) Updated February 23, 2010 12:00 AM
GENERAL SANTOS CITY , Philippines - Lakas-Kampi-CMD re-electionist Sen. Lito Lapid said he would not be like fellow celebrity politicians who have reportedly undergone a cosmetic makeover to look better in a media-driven campaign.
Lapid refused to talk about rumors that vice-presidential candidate and party mate Edu Manzano had gone under the knife to look several years younger.
But when pressed on the issue, Lapid told newsmen, “I can speak only for myself. What you see is what you get,” said the Pampanga actor-turned-politician best known for his “Leon Guerrero” movies.
Accompanied by his son, former Pampanga governor Mark Lapid, the senator earlier toured the city in a 15-vehicle motorcade, his campaign jingle blaring in the background.
Lapid currently ranks in the 5th and 6th spots in the surveys.
His fellow actors, Senators Ramon Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada, are slugging it out at the top.
“We are confident his ratings will go up as the campaign wears on,” Mark said.
Lapid is the author of the Free Legal Aid Act, which allows poor litigants to engage the services of top-notch lawyers who, in turn, will get paid in the form of tax rebates corresponding to the legal fee they would normally charge a client.
“For example, if his usual fee is P100,000, the amount will be included in his tax deductibles,” he said.
ERAP SAYS HE'S ASKED TO WITHDRAW FROM RACE IN EXCHANGE FOR FUNDS
(STAR) By Jose Rodel Clapano - Former President Joseph Estrada revealed yesterday that some presidential candidates had offered to reimburse his campaign expenses if he withdraws from the presidential race.Speaking over dzBB radio, the standard-bearer of Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino said he will not abandon his son, Jinggoy and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who are both seeking re-election as senators under the PMP banner.
“I am running to fulfill my promise to the Filipino people of uplifting their lives,” he said.
“Not all can be bought. There are some friends of theirs (presidential candidates) who told me that they would reimburse my expenses in the campaign. I turned them down. I cannot sell my principles.”
Estrada did not identify the presidential candidates who approached him.
If given another mandate, he will prioritize three items: peace and order, food security and ending graft and corruption, he added.
Estrada said he will not lift a finger if President Arroyo is charged in court after she steps down on June 30.
“For me, should there be a case, let it be filed and I will not intervene,” he said.
Estrada said he will respect the judiciary’s independence and allow the courts to independently try Mrs. Arroyo.
“We must give the judiciary independence to handle the case and let her (Mrs. Arroyo) go through due process,” he said.
Estrada told dzBB he is the only “true opposition” among the 10 presidential candidates in the May 10 elections.
“Ask the other candidates,” he said.
“They joined (President) Arroyo in 2001. I’m the only true opposition. They are part of EDSA Dos.”
Liberal Party standard-bearer Benigno Aquino III and Nacionalista Party presidential candidate Manuel Villar Jr. cannot claim that they are true-blooded opposition, he added.
One of the presidential candidates banged the gavel to railroad his impeachment at the House of Representatives in 2000, Estrada said.
Estrada said if elected president again, he does not need to appoint people from his presidential rivals.
“I am very proud of my Cabinet,” he said.
“They are all clean and they are still intact. They created a Task Force during my incarceration to review all the contracts entered during my administration, but they have not found any anomalous transactions during my term.”
Erap: There was no midnight Cabinet
Estrada said he did not preside over a “midnight Cabinet” when he was president, as alleged in the media.
“But it’s true that we work late because we are discussing the problems of the country then,” he said.
Estrada said since he became President in 1998, he would wake up at 6 a.m. and exercise.
“The elite have conspired for my ouster,” he said. “They also fed lies to the public from day one of my presidency.”
Estrada said he was imprisoned for six years and a half, although government prosecutors failed to prove that he stole a single centavo from government coffers.
“I left Malacañang, not because of fear but because I know that there will be bloodshed and I don’t want that to happen.”
Estrada said he had stopped drinking hard liquor when he was elected vice president in 1992.
“I just drink wine,” he said.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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