About the Verde Island Passage
At the heart of the Coral Triangle in the western Pacific Ocean lies the Verde Island Passage. VIP is a marine corridor housing over 300 coral species, underwater rock canyons and reef formations, and 60% of all known shore fish species in the world within a ten-kilometer area. This makes the VIP the most biodiverse marine habitat in the world, turning it comparable to no less than an Amazon of the oceans.
VIP in Numbers
Spans over 1.4 million hectares,
encompassing 4 provinces in the
Philippine island region of Luzon:
Batangas, Marinduque, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, and Romblon.
Home to about 1,736 shore fish species, which is why it is known as the
‘Center of the Center’ of marine
shore fish biodiversity globally
Batangas: Epicenter of fossil gas and LNG expansion in the Philippines
Already confronting numerous threats from climate change and economic activities as one of the busiest sea lanes in the country, VIP today finds itself in great peril as one of the four provinces in its vicinity, Batangas, rapidly turns into the hotspot of operation and expansion of a destructive industry: liquefied natural gas (LNG) and fossil gas.
Batangas is home to:
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5 of 6 existing gas plants in the Philippines
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8 of 35 proposed new plants (4 are active, 4 are delisted/onhold)
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7 of 12 planned terminals
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These will turn the VIP, the marine life thriving in it, and the people of Batangas and surrounding provinces victim to:
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Toxic air and water pollution
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Thermal pollution from seawater intake, resulting in disrupted reproductive cycles of marine life and less fish catch
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Potential freshwater shortages, with gas terminals and plants competing with locals for supply
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A massive increase in shipping activities
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Loss of flora and displacement of coastal communities
Fossil fuel players leading the destruction, and finance fueling the flames of fossil gas
A number of dirty energy companies are taking part today in the race to bring devastation to the Verde Island Passage - with Linseed Field Power Corporation, Atlantic Gulf & Pacific Company (AG&P), and San Miguel Corporation among those taking the lead.
Preparing for the construction of what may be among the first LNG import facilities in the country, Linseed Field Power Corporation and Atlantic Gulf & Pacific Company have flattened part of the coast of
Barangays Ilijan and Dela Paz in Batangas City. Soil carved out of the hill area is now dumped into the sea - and on top of underwater marine life in the area - to make way for the import facility’s jetty. In the distance, the 1,200 MW Ilijan gas plant continues to spew dirty air as it has been doing in the last two decades. If all continues as planned, the power plant intends to receive its fossil gas supply from Linseed’s terminal by June 2022, alongside a new 1,700 MW plant of SMC that seeks to begin the commissioning stage of its first unit before the year ends.
No fossil fuel plant or terminal would be able to come to life if not for the institutions pouring various types of support into their money pipeline.
Which financiers are letting AG&P wreak destruction in the Amazon of the Oceans and elsewhere?
Which financiers helped facilitate the issuance of securities for the projects of concern, turning into accomplices for the destruction of VIP?
Which institutions are lending financial support to SMC-EERI for its fossil gas power plant?
