DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental, Jan.31 (PIA) -- The Provincial Government of Negros Oriental upheld its commitment to protect the environment with the passage of an ordinance which declared the province as a “clean and renewable energy province.”

Governor Roel Degamo and Sangguniang Panglalawigan (SP) Member Jose Baldado, chair of the SP Committee on Environment, highlighted the positive impact of the passage of the said legislation in the reduction of the province’s carbon footprint during the press launch of Ordinance No. 30 s. 2021 on Jan. 28 at the Sidlakan Negros Village, Dumaguete City.

“Ang kaayuhan, una, clean ang atong environment. Once clean ang environment our people (will be) active and healthy. Sa economics, mas mobarato man ang balayran sa kuryente kung magamit na ang renewable energy (The primary benefit of it is that we will have a clean environment. Once our environment is clean, our people will be active and healthy. In the side of economics, power rates will go down if we utilize renewable energy),” Degamo said.

“The first benefit that we can get from RE is wala tay carbon.  Ang climate change is a known fact that will cause katong niaging Odette, flooding (The first benefit we can get from RE is that we won’t emit carbon. Climate change is a known fact that will cause typhoons similar to Odette and flooding),” Baldado said.

The governor added that the ordinance is a landmark piece of local legislation that will boost the morale of the province’s environmental warriors and champions and will also be a source of inspiration for the provincial government to sustain its efforts for a clean and sustainable world.

Baldado said that with the passage of the said ordinance, Negros Oriental has become the first RE province in the country.

Executive Order No. 9 s. 2018, which declared the province as Environment-Friendly and Clean Energy Province and its supporting resolution by the SP Resolution No. 359 dated April 18, 2018, and E.O. 22 s. 2018 declaring the fifth day of March as RE Day in the province, set as the precursor of Ordinance No. 30.

The new ordinance gives incentives to renewable energy firms investing in the province, such as the seven-year moratorium for the payment of real property taxes.

It also directed government instrumentalities involved to process and grant in the soonest possible time the necessary permits and right-of-way applications in areas that are allocated for renewable energy use.

It also provided incentive for host communities in the province.

The ordinance also ordered the creation of the Provincial Renewable Energy Executive Committee and Council which will pursue policy-making and monitoring of measures that will promote and accelerate RE development in the province.

The provincial government will chair the committee, with members composed of the vice-governor, chair of the SP Committee on Environmental Protection, Natural Resources, and Energy, provincial Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO), Department of Energy (DOE) provincial representative, Provincial Engineer’s Office (PEO), Provincial Tourism Office (PTO), Provincial Public Information Office (PIO), and mayors of all cities and municipalities in the province.

The committee will also have representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners - Negros Oriental, Negros Oriental Electric Cooperatives (NORECO) I and II, Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI), the academe sector, agricultural sector, health sector, professional organizations, energy sector, and socio-civic sector. 

Several stakeholders including the DOE, business sector, religious sector, and academic sector lauded the provincial government for this endeavor.

“The DOE would like to thank and congratulate the people of Negros Oriental for this very significant milestone that they have collectively achieved for the promotion of RE. The DOE is very thankful for the province. We have all our policy direction and thrust is already in line especially with the issuance of moratorium for the endorsement of coal-fired power plants,” said DOE Visayas Field Office Science Research Specialist Lou Arciaga via Zoom. (RAL/PIA7 Negros Oriental)