The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau -Region 10 (DENR-EMB 10) lauded FDC Misamis Power Corporation (FDC Misamis) for its steadfast efforts in maintaining its carbon sink management program (CSMP) in the province of Misamis Oriental.
In 2018, FDC Misamis inked a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for a Carbon Sink Project with DENR-EMB-10 and Barangay Sambulawan in El Salvador City, the power firm’s first major carbon sink project, establishing a man-made forest and help sequester carbon emission to maintain the air quality in the province.
FDC Misamis was touted to be “a show window of a successful carbon sink for coal-fired power plants in the Region,” according to a letter from the DENR EMB-10 after its most recent site inspection in January 2021.
The agency applauded the power firm for the suitability of its CSMP area, management and supervision scheme of existing forested areas, and planted species’ highly adaptive characteristics. The 80-hectare land is now home to indigenous trees such as An-an, Tipolo, Maribojoc, Bangkal, Acacia, Alim (Alum), Magtangali, Rattan, and Kalikoy, among many. Meanwhile, the additional 40 hectares were populated with Mangium and Bagras species.
The agency’s comments humbled FDC Misamis’ management.
“It is encouraging to know that the DENR-EMB 10 sees our efforts, which is more than for compliance purposes. This project, along with many other social development programs, is our way of giving back to Mindanao and is consistent with the Filinvest’s trust in making a difference in the lives of Filipinos,” says FDC Misamis President and CEO Juan Eugenio L. Roxas.
“The disruptions brought by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 may have given the planet a halt, temporarily improving air quality worldwide. But as we move forward in this post-covid era, environmental stewardship must be at the forefront to truly mitigate greenhouse gas emissions,” Roxas added.
FDC Misamis is a subsidiary of FDC Utilities, Inc., the Gotianun-led Filinvest Development Corporation’s utilities and power arm. It operates a 3×135-MW circulating fluidized bed coal thermal plant in Villanueva town, one of Northern Mindanao’s biggest. Since its commercial operations in 2016, the facility has been supplying stable and cost-effective power. The company plays a vital role in ensuring the stability of the Mindanao grid throughout the pandemic.
