SC stops power project
Friday, March 31, 2006
GMA orders Energy Dep’t to avert brownouts
By REY G. PANALIGAN
High Tribunal reverses CA, affirms Makati RTC ruling
The Supreme Court has affirmed a Makati City trial court ruling that stopped the National Power Corp. (NPC) from energizing its 230-kilovolt transmission lines from Sucat in Parañaque City to Araneta Ave. in Quezon City, pending final determination as to whether or not the transmission of high-voltage electric current through the cables is harmful to public health and safety.
In a decision written by Justice Minita Chico Nazario, the SC reversed a Court of Appeals verdict which earlier allowed NPC to energize and transmit high- voltage electric current through the cables the power firm had constructed.
Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban and Justices Consuelo Ynares Santiago, Ma. Alicia Austria Martinez, and Romeo J. Callejo Sr. concurred in the decision.
"In the present case, the far-reaching irreversible effects to human safety should be the primordial concerns over presumed economic benefits per se as alleged by the NPC," the Supreme Court said.
"In hindsight, if, after trial, it turns out that the health-related fears that petitioners cleave on to have adequate confirmation in fact and in law, the questioned project of NPC then suffers from a paucity of purpose, no matter how noble the purpose may be. For what use will modernization serve if it proves to be a scourge on an individual’s fundamental right, not just to health and safety, but, ostensibly, to life preservation itself, in all of its desired quality?"
In 1996, the NPC started construction of 29 decagon-shaped steel poles or towers with a height of 53.4 meters to support overhead high-tension cables in connection with its 230-kilovolt Sucat-Araneta-Balintawak Power Transmission project, which passes along South Superhighway, the perimeter of Fort Bonifacio, and Dasmariñas Village in Makati City where the petitioners reside.
Alarmed by studies that exposure to high-voltage electric current has adverse effects on health and safety, the residents aired their concerns to NPC which started a dialogue.
When negotiations bogged down, the residents filed a case with the Makati City RTC which issued a temporary restraining order on March 13, 2000, which stopped the NPC from energizing its project. Later, the TRO was extended for 18 more days.
The NPC, after the trial court issued a preliminary injunction on April 3, 2000, elevated the case to the Court of Appeals. Acting on the petition, the CA reversed the trial court’s orders dated March 13 and April 3, 2000 in a decision dated May 3, 2000. The appellate court’s decision enabled the NPC to energize its project.
The Dasmarinas Village residents and Judge Ibay himself elevated the unfavorable ruling of the appellate court to the SC.
Resolving the issue, the SC said that "although PD 818 prohibits any court from issuing injunctions in cases involving infrastructure project, the prohibition extends only to the issuance of injunctions or restraining orders against administrative acts in controversies involving facts or the exercise of discretion in technical cases."
On issues clearly outside this dimension and involving questions of law, courts cannot be prevented from exercising their power to restrain or prohibit administrative acts.
"It such cases, let the hammer fall and let it fall hard," the court said as it pointed out that "there is adequate evidence on record to justify the conclusion that the project of NPC probably imperils the health and safety of the petitioners so as to justify the issuance by the trial court of a writ of preliminary injunction."
It cited the presentation by the affected Makati City residents of studies linking the incidence of illnesses such as cancer and leukemia to exposure to electromagnetic fields.
"There is ample indication to suggest to the mind of the court that the health concerns of the petitioners are far, at the very least, far from imaginary," the court said.
Even a member of Congress denounced the cavalier manner with which the NPC ignored safety and consultation requirements in the questioned project, it added.
"Lest we be misconstrued, this decision does not undermine the purpose of the NPC project which is aimed towards the common good of the people. But is the promotion of the general welfare at loggerheads with the preservation of the rule of law? We submit that it is not," the SC said.
In the Senate, Sen. Joker Arroyo lauded the Supreme Court for the decision.
Arroyo, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon and public services committees, said the decision would finally force "stubborn" NPC officials into re-aligning the power lines which reportedly cause cancer.
NPC and National Transmission Corporation (Transco) officials earlier warned of an impending blackout should they lose in their motion for reconsideration to the Supreme Court. They said this would force them to realign the high-altitude power lines which could cost billions of pesos.
"I have heard that many times. It is sickening that Napocor gives its technical reasons for an environmental (issue)," Arroyo said.
Arroyo said the estimated billions of pesos to be spent in re-aligning the power lines might be overpriced.
In Malacañang, President Arroyo ordered the Department of Energy to avert any possible power outages in Metro Manila in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling ordering the shutdown of Sucat-Araneta transmission line.
Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said the President has directed the Energy department to prepare "contingencies and alternatives" to ensure uninterrupted power supply in the nation’s capital.
"The President wants us to make sure there is no interruption of vital public services such as power," he said in an interview with reporters at the sidelines of the 2006 Philippine Development Forum attended by the President at the Taal Vista Lodge in Tagaytay City.
Lotilla said he would meet officials of the Transco today to map out the contingency measures to keep electricity running in millions of households and private establishments in Metro Manila.
Residents of Dasmariñas Village in Makati City have petitioned the High Court to close the 230-kilovolt power facility because it poses health risks from radiation.
The transmission line delivers electricity to southern Metro Manila from power plants in Luzon.
Lotilla, however, said the government will file an appeal with the High Tribunal to reconsider its decision to stop the use of the Sucat-Araneta substation.
"Until the decision is not final and executory, we should not fear any blackout or interruption of power supply because contingencies are in place," he said.
Lotilla likewise dispelled any apprehensions that power facilities strategically located in the country pose health risks to nearby residents. (with reports by Genalyn Kabiling and Mario Casayuran)
posted by philpower @ 8:38 AM,
