The Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park buffer zone geothermal area awarded to the  Philippine National Oil Co.-Energy Development Corp. went through an evaluation process extending for five and a half years, a press release from the firm said yesterday.

The review included that of Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Park Board from February 1996 to March 1997, Provincial Development Council from June 1997 to October 1997, Regional Development Council from October 1997 to March 1998, and Congressional hearings from August 2000 to June 2001, the press release said.

“We conducted several consultations from September 1996 to January 1997.  We also secured the required endorsement from the Park Board after the review of the Provincial Development Council and the Regional Development Council,” Gino dela Cruz, resident manager of PNOC EDC’s Northern Negros Geothermal Power Plant said.

Dela Cruz said that PNOC EDC conducted stakeholder consultations from September 1996 to January 1997 for a total of five months in all the political units within the park.                       

“As a result of the consultations, the Park Board endorsed the geothermal block as a buffer zone or as a multiple-use zone of the park on March 11, 1997. By August 15, 2000,  the DENR ruled in favor of including the PNOC EDC block as a buffer zone based on the process undertaken,” dela Cruz explained.

After getting confirmation of an existing resource inside the park from the World Bank consultant of the park, the 38-member Park Board consisting of DENR, LGUs and NGOs agreed to reduce the geothermal block assigned by DOE in the Service Contract from 1,850 hectares to 169 hectares to access the resource and to minimize the forest impact, the press release said.

The allocated area was declared a geothermal buffer zone and segregated from the park’s protection zone under R.A.9154, known as the Mt. Kanlaon Park Act of 2001, it added.*

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