SALCON Power Corporation Campaign

In 2004, the SALCON Power Corporation in Naga, Cebu became the target of an NGO environmental campaign for its partnership with the Korean Power Corporation (KEPCO) for the construction of two 100 megawatts coal-fired power plants.

The NGO called CARE or Cebu Alliance for Renewable Energy conducted mobilizations in Naga town and in Cebu City to attract the attention of media. It had initiated organizing efforts in the communities around the SALCON Power Complex. It presented various data about global warming, conducted area tests with other NGOs like Greenpeace. In fact, CARE was backed by the Leftist BAYAN Muna and was bolstered by an earlier NGO campaign that prevented the construction of a similar coal-fired plant in Iloilo Island.

Because of the municipal government’s support of the construction of the two plants, the mayor and other LGU officials also became targets of an effective tri-media barrage.

The SALCON management anticipated that the tri-media campaign will get local support and might create problems in terms of social acceptability during the series of Environmental Compliance Certification hearings scheduled in early 2005.

Intervention

Through the intervention of the local government, SALCON contracted the services of PRworks Inc., which immediately conducted an appraisal of the situation and proposed a comprehensive program that basically included:

• A series of surveys on public perception re the construction of the two coal-fired plants;
• A media relations and news management program that succeeded in tilting the balance of media coverage towards SALCON’s favor;
• A lobby campaign that resulted in the support for the project by the Cebu Mayors’ League and the Provincial Board.
• A three-month community relations campaign in the communities around the SALCON complex that resulted in the mobilization of thousands of residents who expressed support for the construction of the plants during the municipal ECC hearing and another hearing by the Cebu Provincial Board. The mobilizations countered the mass actions organized by CARE and showed overwhelming public support for the two plants.

Groundbreaking

No protests marred the SALCON and KEPCO groundbreaking ceremonies in December 2005 that was graced by the Salcon and Kepco Presidents and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Filed under: Case Studies , Business, Cebu, Commerce, Crisis Management, Economy, Global Warming, Kepco, Korean Power Corporation, Philippines, Salcon Power Corporation, Visayas