Church leaders and environmental advocates ended a three-day pilgrimage across Quezon province on Nov. 20 with a protest at the 1,200-megawatt Atimonan coal-fired power plant.
The groups denounced what they described as the renewed push for coal in the Philippine energy mix.
Participants gathered outside the Meralco PowerGen-owned (MGen) facility to underscore long-standing local opposition to fossil fuel projects in the province.
The pilgrimage was organized by Quezon for Environment (QUEEN), a coalition of church-led and ecological groups that have campaigned against coal for over a decade.
Organizers urged government officials across Quezon province to respond to “the people’s calls for ending the rebirth of coal” and preventing operations they said threaten communities and ecosystems.
“With every stop from Mauban, Tayabas City, and Pagbilao all the way to Atimonan, our humble pilgrimage was welcomed by communities and churches alike, with active participation and support from priests and residents signifying that Quezon is against the presence and the use of coal in its lands,” said Fr. Warren Puno of the Diocese of Lucena and Caritas Philippines.
Advocates also criticized the national government’s approval of the Atimonan plant and decisions that weakened the country’s coal moratorium.
Gerry Arances of the Power for People Coalition said, “We must end fossil fuel expansion, which promises only destruction and loss of life.”
He added that reviving coal “serves only to intensify the climate crisis,” pointing to the deaths and damage caused by Typhoon Tino and Super Typhoon Uwan.
The groups likewise called for scrutiny of other extractive activities in Quezon, including quarrying and a proposed 247-megawatt wind power project near Mt. Banahaw.
Fr. Puno said the area is “sacred and protected land” and warned that renewable projects “must not endanger local wildlife and ecology.”
The priest stressed that the shift to clean energy must remain centered on people and ecosystems, saying, “Our shift to renewable energy must be just and humane.”
