The Departments of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Energy (DoE) have joined forces with the country’s three leading conglomerates in a groundbreaking move to protect and preserve the Verde Island Passage (VIP).
The government agencies, along with Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV), Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), and San Miguel Corp. (SMC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday to ramp up environmental and community development efforts for the VIP.
“As a framework for joint stewardship and sustainable development, this historic initiative not only underscores the collective commitment to environmental preservation,” DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga said.
New era
For Loyzaga, the tie-up also “heralds a new era” of public-private partnership.
The VIP is a strait that spans across Batangas, Marinduque, Romblon, Oriental Mindoro and Occidental Mindoro.
It covers an area of 1.4 million hectares and is home to over 1,700 fish species and 300 coral species, forming a biodiversity zone that marine experts cite as the “center of the center of marine shore fish biodiversity.”
Promoting sustainable VIP access
The MoU aims to promote the conservation, protection and enhancement of biodiversity and coastal marine resources of the VIP.
Its objectives include supporting a clean energy transition towards sustainable and resilient low-carbon development and establishing Marine Science Research Stations in the VIP to advance science, policy, and practices needed by the industry.
Likewise, it also commits to the responsible stewardship and sustainable access and use of the VIP’s coastal and marine resources, and creating stakeholder platforms to ensure the welfare of surrounding communities.
“The responsible stewardship and sustainable access and use of the Verde Island Passage aims to facilitate access to affordable energy, ensure a reliable and resilient energy supply, and transition to clean, sustainable, and climate-centered energy resources,” Energy Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla said.
Aboitiz Power Corp. (AP), the Aboitiz Group’s power generation arm, has been actively expanding its clean energy initiatives and renewable energy (RE) power plants.
Currently, AP has over 1,000 megawatts (MW) of ongoing clean energy projects, with full operations targeted within the next three years.
“It has always been our goal to help safeguard our environment and uplift the welfare of the communities, in this case, the people who are dependent on the Verde Island Passage for their livelihood,” Aboitiz Equity Ventures president and CEO Sabin M. Aboitiz said.
