'Put $2.8 million from sale of Bataan power plant in escrow'

BALANGA CITY, Philippines – Bataan Gov. Enrique Garcia Jr. yesterday asked the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) to place in escrow $2.859 million from the sale of the decommissioned 225-megawatt Bataan Thermal Power Plant to be used in the clean-up of toxic waste in Limay town.

Garcia told The STAR the provincial government would not allow the winning bidder, Rubenori Inc., reportedly owned by former labor secretary Ruben Torres in partnership with a Japanese firm, to dismantle and remove machineries and equipment from the power plant until the money is placed in escrow.

The winning bidder must clear the site of waste materials produced by the power plant reportedly contaminated with cancer-causing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), he added.

Garcia issued Executive Order No. 13, S-2006 prohibiting the sale, disposal or removal of machineries and equipment from the power plant until the issue on the toxic waste materials is resolved.

A copy of the executive order had been served on PSALM.

Engineer Godofredo de Guzman, Bataan environment and natural resources officer, said the toxic wastes pose a clear and present danger to the people and the environment of Bataan.

Scientific studies show PCB can cause cancer through frequent contact, ingestion or inhalation of dust coated with the chemical, he added.

Soil samplings taken by experts from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources showed that polychlorinated biphenyls contaminated the soil in three sites in the power plant, De Guzman said.

The power plant ceased operations in 1998 because of rising maintenance cost.