MANILA – Fisherfolk and environmental groups are apprehensive on the appointment of former Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla as the new environment chief following a major cabinet revamp.

The two-time energy secretary is the architect of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA), which paved the way for the privatization of the entire supply chain of the power sector, and later on served as president of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM), the office responsible for overseeing the privatization of the government’s assets in the power sector, especially the National Power Corporation. 

In a statement, Kalikasan pointed out that the EPIRA resulted in “skyrocketing electricity prices and diminished public control (on the energy sector).”

The privatization of the energy sector worsened with Lotilla at the helm of the energy department as former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s energy secretary.

In his second term as energy secretary under the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Lotilla gave emphasis on the development of renewable and clean energy in order to meet the power demands in the country and the global thrust to shift to renewable and clean energy.

As new power generation projects require environmental clearances, Lotilla’s position as the country’s new environment chief could help fast track the approval of clean energy generation projects, including the massive floating solar power project in Laguna.

In an interview with Manila Bulletin, Juan Paolo Colet of Chinabank Capital Corp. said that “[Lotilla’s] move to the DENR has the potential to be beneficial to the energy sector because of the department’s role in granting certain important permits for energy projects.” 

While private power sector players are optimistic on the appointment of Lotilla, communities affected by renewable energy projects, small fisherfolks, and environmental groups are hesitant.

Kalikasan said that his crafting of the EPIRA and “controversial tenure at the Department of Energy… expose a clear pattern of pro-corporate, anti-people policy-making.”

“If this legacy continues at the DENR, we face the real danger of more greenwashed ‘development’ that sacrifices ecosystems and communities in favor of profit, while deepening the hardship of the poor and vulnerable,” it continued.

Meanwhile, environmental network Save Laguna Lake Movement (SLLM) is calling for Lotilla to “thoroughly evaluate the potential impacts of the (floating solar power) project in the socio-economic and environmental rights of the affected coastal communities.”

Read: Fishers oppose floating solar project in Laguna lake 

“There is a growing protest among affected fisherfolks and residents on the pending floating solar project that would affect traditional fishing grounds,” they said.

Former Anakpawis Congressman and Pamalakaya National Chairperson Fernando Hicap also challenged Lotilla to “revamp the policies of the DENR into a people-oriented and rights-based approach on environmental protection and climate change adaptation.”

For them, Lotilla’s sincerity as environment chief would be felt if he would cancel the environmental compliance certificates (ECC) on destructive projects issued during the term of Outgoing Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga. These include the 407-hectare City of Pearl in Manila, the 50-hectare Navotas City reclamation, and the 420-hectare reclamation in Bacoor City, Cavite. 

“If he truly seeks to serve the Filipino people, he must break decisively from the corporate-dominated legacy that has long plagued the DENR,” Kalikasan said, adding, “He must center the needs of marginalized communities, uphold environmental justice, and immediately halt the fast-tracking of destructive projects disguised as ‘clean energy’.” (AMU, RVO)