Gov't's maritime disaster response capability gets added support from Lopez-led First-Gen

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Thursday, 15 December 2022 - 4:58:00 PM

First Gen Corporation, the country’s leading clean energy company, has agreed to help beef up government’s capability to deal with maritime disasters and calamities in Batangas as part of the Lopez-led power company’s commitment to help mitigate as well the adverse impacts of climate changein the province.

First Genfinalized on Thursday, 15 December 2022, separate agreements withthe Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the local government unit (LGU) of Batangas City tofirm up the company’s financial and logistical support for the establishment of respective BFP and PCG special response units based in Batangas City.
Signatories to the agreements were Artemio M. Abu, PCG admiral; Louie Suralta Puracan, BFP director; Beverley Rose A. Dimacuha, Batangas City mayor; and Francis Giles B. Puno, First Gen president and COO.

Under the agreements, BFP and PCG will deploy their respective emergency response teams– called BFP Special Rescue Force and PCG Special Response Unit – which will have the capacity and technical skills to react to a wide range of emergencies that may take place in coastal areas, open waters and remote islands of the province.

These emergencies include calamities and disasters related to typhoons, tsunami and earthquakes, as well as climate change contingencies, industrial emergencies and other man-made crises. BFP and PCG will headquarter their respective teams in a building, to be called Advanced Local Emergency Response Team (ALERT) Center 2.

Batangas City under Mayor Dimacuha, for her part, has pledged, among other things, to provide assistance to facilitate the approval and renewal of all requisite permits and clearances for the establishment and construction of ALERT Center 2 in conformity with the local laws, rules and regulations.

First Gen, in turn, has committed to provide a land area within the coast of Batangas City and to finance the construction in the same lot ofALERT Center 2. In 2016, First Gen forged a memorandum of agreement also with the BFP and Batangas City LGU for the establishment of the first ALERT Center. For the first ALERT Center, First Gen likewise donated funds for the building, the acquisition of its needed office furniture and fixtures, vehicles, and for training village volunteer firemen.

For ALERT Center 2, First Gen has pledged to furnish the necessary facilities, such as a boat ramp, boat house, and barracks, aside from the lot and building. To the extent allowed by law and regulation, First Gen also has committed to provide subsidies for ALERT Center 2’s water and electricity requirements and fuel necessary for the BFP and PCG teams’ conduct of patrols that will ensure safety and security of critical infrastructures in the area.

The Batangas City area also serves as host forFirst Gen power plants with close to 2,000 megawatts in capacitythat run on natural gas, the cleanest form of fossil fuel playing a big role in assuring energy security. Aside from the natural gas power facilities in Batangas, First Gen’s portfolio of power plants usesclean and renewable energy sources, such as geothermal, hydro, wind and solar. These plants have a total combined capacity of 3,495 MW, making First Gen the Philippines’ leading provider of clean energy.

First Gen is the holding company for energy-related businesses of First Philippine Holdings Corporation (FPH), a Lopez-led conglomerate with a long history of supporting environmental advocacies, including a campaign to help reverse adverse climate change.

In signing the agreements, the parties acknowledged, among other things, the importance of community empowerment and disaster preparedness to mitigate the effects of calamities, including those related to climate change.They likewise acknowledged that all sectors of the communities are entitled to be provided with technical rescue services for emergencies that will take place within open waters and remote islands of Batangas.

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