ROCK ENERGY International Corp. Managing Director Carl Fontanilla on Monday reiterated his appeal to Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez to allow the company to reopen its facility in Vitas, Tondo, Manila.
In a statement, Rock Energy said the continued closure of its facility has been affecting major industries, such as cement manufacturing.
Fontanilla said the prolonged closure of their Mineral Products Storage and Handling Facility at Vitas Industrial Estate in Vitas, Tondo, Manila, has resulted in at least a 15-percent increase in the costs of producing cement of major manufacturers. With the costs of production up, price of cement is also expected to increase substantially.
A trading and logistics firm based in the Port Area, Rock Energy is mainly involved in coal and mineral distribution, supplying vital mineral resources to leading manufacturers in the country, such as cement and glass companies.
“We store coal for big companies, such as cement manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and factories producing noodles, steel, paper and soaps, among others, but with our coal warehouse here in Manila still closed, they now get their supply from as far as Zambales,” Fontanilla said. Due to geographical distance, Fontanilla said industries dependent on coal for power generation also have to spend more for additional delivery and transportation costs unlike when it is readily available in Manila. Fontanilla claimed companies spend at least an additional P60,000 per day just due to the delay in port unloading.
“With these added costs, manufacturers tend to pass on the burden to their consumers by increasing the prices of their products, and it also somehow slows down their operation,” the Rock Energy official said.
In a January 18 letter to Lopez, Fontanilla said they have already complied with the conditions imposed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
He appealed anew to Lopez to lift the suspension of their environmental compliance certificate.
Fontanilla said the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau-National Capital Region (EMB), headed by Director Visminda Osorio, has inspected their coal facility several times, together with the EMB-Central’s Quick Response Team and other multisector groups. Jonathan L. Mayuga
“Both technical teams of EMB-NCR and the EQRT recommended for the lifting of the suspension of our ECC. However, to date our request is not being acted accordingly by Director Osorio of EMB-NCR,” Fontanilla told Lopez.
“It is in view of the above that we are appealing to your office for immediate favorable action for the lifting of the suspension of Rock Energy ECC,” the Rock Energy official added in his letter to the DENR chief.
It was the second time Fontanilla sent a letter to Lopez. In his December 15 letter, the Rock Energy official said the company has fully complied with the specific conditions set forth in the Notice of Violation issued to them by the DENR-EMB.
Rock Energy President Mario Veloso backed up Fontanilla’s assertions.
“As far as the technical people are concerned, cleared na kami e, in fact, if you see our facilities, it’s better than any,” he pointed out, referring to the high-tech equipment they installed to mitigate the spread of coal dust in from their facility to nearby informal settlements in Tondo.
Located at Lot 3-G Earnville, Vitas Industrial Estate in Vitas, Tondo, Rock Energy’s Mineral Products Storage and Handling Facility had been the subject of complaints by residents of Barangay 105 who claimed coal dusts from the facility have exposed them to serious health risks such as respiratory diseases.
In response, DENR suspended the firm’s ECC No. NCR-1405-0199 on June 24, 2015, effectively shutting down the stockyard.
Rock Energy said it has installed a variety of advanced pollution control systems at the facility – more than what was required by the EMB – and that the inspection teams have already recommended their reopening.
These systems include dust control units to mitigate the spread of dust, portable and fixed water sprayers, silting pond to capture materials from run-off surface water, a drainage system to prevent flooding, wire mesh hall as wind barrier, and an 8-meter high perimeter fence around the stockyard.
They are the only coal storage facility in the country that is currently using high-tech water sprayers to control the spread of coal dust. Rock Energy now aims to be the ‘gold standard’ in the country’s bid to use clean technology to mitigate the harmful effects of coal.