Smoke of anxiety over Mt. Apo

THE ENDANGERED Philippine eagle,

the beautiful Vanda sanderiana

(locally called waling-waling) and the

intriguing Lake Agco--all these are

found within and around Mt. Apo.

Beautiful, indeed, but Apo has become an object of both pride

and controversy.

People in Mindanao are proud of Apo, the highest peak in the

Philippines. Yet, this sacred mountain of the indigenous people

is controversial for its treasured possession of geothermal

energy.

Before, there was the Mt. Apo Geothermal Plant I, whose

operations the people opposed because the environment might

be destroyed. The project was approved. It was another burden

for the National Power Corp., as well as the people, because the

cost of electricity per kilowatt-hour increased.

Now here comes the Mt. Apo Geothermal Plant II (Apo 2) which

might inflict heavy losses to the NPC because whether the new

plant is running or not, the company will still pay for it.

Since the NPC will be paying for Apo 2, the cost of electricity

per kwh will also rise. The rising cost of electricity will also

probably make the prices of common commodities go up. This

costly expenditure may even lead to the privatization of the

NPC, an option that is in the minds of some government

technocrats.

To this I disagree because I am afraid that the ownership of the

company might be passed on from one investor to another. How

can a company be stable if this happens? This spells insecurity

for the workers.

I guess the destiny of other privatized companies is enough and

let that be a lesson to us all.

If Apo 2 should push through with its opening, a basic lesson

from science might help. My science teacher says that once

moisture accumulates inside a volcano, something bad happens.

A chemical reaction may occur.

This is probable in the case of drilling into the core of a volcano.

Water in the form of moisture mixes with silica in magma. If the

mixture content of magma is heavy, I'd rather flee because this

might cause a violent eruption.

What would happen then to places near the volcano at the

height of a chemical unrest? It would just be like what happened

to the provinces surrounding Mt. Pinatubo when it erupted in

July 1991.

Would this probably happen to Apo? Well, who can tell?

Pinatubo was dormant for 600 years. Nobody had ever thought

that Pinatubo was a volcano. I am just apprehensive of a similar

scenario in Mindanao in the years to come.

The beautiful treasures coming from the area around Apo might

be all gone. Our pride, the Philippine eagle, can no longer soar

the sky, for its home has been destroyed by man. So, before it is

too late, let us find out what we can do as citizens of the

Republic of the Philippines.

I hope the people would get the point I am driving at. Apo, an

inactive volcano, might erupt and may even bring more pain and

tragedy than what Pinatubo had inflicted. The places around are

not the only ones that will suffer but the whole country as well.

So please, if you love the Philippines, take care of it. This means

never taking things for granted. I hope that you will never take

this issue for granted.