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| ==[[Sorsogon News]]== | | ==[[Sorsogon News]]== |
| '''Phivolcs to Bulusan geothermal developer: ‘At your own risk’ ''' | | '''Aquino names UP regent, MTC judges''' |
| *Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=403928 | | *Source: http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/nation/23071-aquino-names-up-regent-mtc-judges |
| *February 8, 2012, 8:10 pm | | *THURSDAY, 09 FEBRUARY 2012 20:47 |
| :by Danny O. Calleja | | :by MIA M. GONZALEZ / REPORTER |
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| SORSOGON CITY, Feb 8 (PNA) – “At your own risk”.
| | PRESIDENT Aquino has appointed Evelina Buencamino Guevara-Escudero, the mother of Sen. Francis Joseph Escudero, as a member of the Board of Regents of the University of the Philippines. |
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| This was the warning aired on Wednesday by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) addressed to a private industrial firm eying on the development of a geothermal power facility near the foot of the active Bulusan Volcano.
| | Escudero, who replaces Magdaleno Albarracin Jr., will serve a term expiring on February 18, 2014. |
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| Crispulo Diolata, the resident volcanologist manning the Phivolc’s Mt. Bulusan Observatory in Barangay Cabid-an here said the volcano’s condition remains abnormal and still under alert level one.
| | Escudero obtained her home economics degree from the University of the Philippines, and later, her Master in Educational Administration and her doctorate in education from the same institution. |
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| Under this alert level, human activities are discouraged within the four-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ) of the volcano as a life threatening eruption may take place anytime, Diolata explained.
| | She is the wife of Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Salvador Escudero III of Sorsogon, a former secretary of Agriculture and dean of the UP College of Veterinary Medicine. |
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| In its bulletin issued on Wednesday, the Phivolcs said “Bulusan Volcano’s status remains at Alert Level 1. Entry into the 4-kilometer radius Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) is strictly prohibited due to sudden steam and ash eruptions.
| | Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda also announced the appointment of judges of the Metropolitan Trial Court in Caloocan City. |
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| Due to the prevailing wind direction, residents in the northwest and southwest sectors of the volcano are reminded to take precautions against ashfall from sudden eruptions.
| | They are Judge Marlo Campanilla, Branch 83; Judge Dennis Rafa, Branch 84; Judge Michael Francisco, Branch 85; and Judge Lourdes Grace Barrientos Sasondoncillo, Branch 86. |
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| Civil aviation authorities must also warn pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit as ejecta from sudden eruptions may be hazardous to aircraft. If possible, aircraft should avoid airspace west of the volcano as volcanic ash is likely to be dispersed in this direction by prevailing winds.
| | Campanilla was Fourth Assistant City Prosecutor in Manila at the time of his appointment, while Rafa was Prosecutor II of Makati City. |
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| Furthermore, people living within valleys and along river/stream channels should be vigilant against sediment-laden stream flows and lahars in the event of heavy and prolonged rainfall.”
| | Sasondoncillo had served as graft investigation and Prosecution Officer I of the Office of the Ombudsman at the time of her appointment. |
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| The Phivolcs is not saying that the developer of the proposed geothermal power project should not go ahead with their planned activities within the area but they should do it at their own risk. Mt. Bulusan eruptions are risky to human lives and may severely damage their equipment, Diolata stressed.
| | Since July 2011, Francisco served as general counsel of HTT Realty & Recreational Corp., Lionhead Intl Corp., Jomark Food Corp., and Millennium Ocean Star Corp. |
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| The proposed establishment of the geothermal facility was contracted by the Department of Energy (DOE) with the Summa Kumagai Industries (SKI) that expects to produce some 40 megawatts of geothermal power following a five-year exploration and construction activities that would slash into the Bulusan Volcano Natural Park (BVNP).
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| BVNP is a 350,000–hectare protected area covered by the municipality of Bulusan and four other adjoining towns sitting near the foot of the volcano. The area is gifted with lush vegetation teeming with exotic flora and fauna.
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| It serves as home to several endangered species of birds and animals like falcon, monkeys, deer, wild pigs, among other rare ecological properties that contribute to its rich biodiversity.
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| It is also a watershed area supplying water to thousands of households and irrigating extensive farmlands within the five towns bordering it. It covers the scenic Bulusan Lake Ecological Park, a sprawling virgin forest area that encloses the magnificent Bulusan Lake, Sorsogon province’s main eco-tourism landmark.
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| BVNP was awarded early last year by the DOE under its Geothermal Resource Energy Service Contract (GRESCO) to the SKI Construction Group Inc., a fully-owned subsidiary of First Philippine Holdings Corporation of the Lopez Group.
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| Most of the local government units (LGUs) covering the area are opposing the project on ground that it would destroy the ecological wonders of the area that serves a major destination for the growing local tourism industry.
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| The SKI, on the other hand, said it is determined to pursue the project despite oppositions from the host communities.
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| The Bulusan Geothermal Energy Project (BGEP) service contract between the DOE and SKI, covers a five-year development arrangement, the first two years for the exploration or pre-development stage and the next three years for the full development stage.
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| The pre-development stage would involve the conduct of date review, geochemical sampling, geophysical investigations, data evaluation and resource assessment through drilling of exploratory wells down to the earth’s core within the 26,000 portion of the BVNP.
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| The development stage is for massive constructions, forest clearing and well-drilling activities to put up roads, geothermal plants, power turbines, toxic waste tailing ponds and other installations.
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| Diolata said the proposed energy project would not affect in anyway the volcano and its natural attitude. “It is the volcano that would affect the project given its abnormal condition that poses danger to the project and the people working in it.”
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| Mt. Bulusan that stands 5,135 feet in elevation above the ground was declared under abnormal condition in March 19, 2006 after it manifested increased seismic unrest that was followed by an explosion on June 8 of the same year. At least 11 other eruptions took place later and the latest was on May 13, last year. (PNA)
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| DCT/LAM/LQ/DOC/cbd
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| ==Photo Gallery of Sorsogon, Philippines== | | ==Photo Gallery of Sorsogon, Philippines== |