Gwen, Mike tagged as ‘Earth destroyers’

CEBU Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama were branded as “Destroyers of Mother Earth” (Dome) by progressive groups in Cebu during an Earth Day protest at Osmeña Boulevard in Cebu City on Friday, April 22, 2022.Teody Navea, secretary-general of Sanlakas-Cebu, said the protest aimed to call the attention of the government on environmental issues that continue to affect the people.Sanlakas was joined by Partido Lakas ng Masa and members of Pagtambayayong Foundation.During the activity, policemen arrived in the area to observe the protest until it ended.According to Navea, Garcia and Rama received the Dome awards because the two officials had made pronouncements allowing projects that would eventually add to the destruction of the environment.Navea said government should instead provide a sincere and concrete solution to mitigate the effects of climate change.The Department of Energy and the Department of Environment of Natural Resources were also labeled by the group as Dome.The group slammed Cebu City’s planned waste-to-energy (WTE) project, which they said will not benefit the people.“Kining waste-to-energy, magsunog ta og basura. Unya makadaot baya na sa katawhan, makamatay, makahatag og cancer. Unya dili klaro nga makahatag og kuryente (This waste-to-energy project will make us burn garbage which is harmful to the people. It can kill and cause cancer, and it isn’t sure to give electricity),” said Navea.The proposed project would process 800 tons of waste per day. It is expected to produce an estimated 18 megawatts of electricity.Although the WTE is a project of the Cebu City Government, Navea said Garcia should also be made accountable for it since the governor has expressed support for this kind of energy source.Rama refused to comment on his Dome award except to say that protesters have the right to speak up.Rama also said a process is being followed on the proposed WTE project. (IRT)