HINIKAYAT ng ‘Withdrawal from Coal’ (WFC) na i-phase out ang pagpopondo ng ‘dirty energy’ sa mga ulat na naglabas ng $13 billion ang 15 local banks para sa patuloy na pagpapalawak ng ‘coal projects’ sa bansa.

Sa Coal Divestment Scorecard, base sa criteria na inilunsad ng mga civil society group, Church leaders, environmentalists, at faith-based groups, lumilitaw na may 15 Philippine banks ang nag-channel ng $13.42 billion sa mga kumpanya ng ‘coal developer’ at ‘coal projects’ mula 2009 hanggang 2019.

“Philippine banks and other financiers have caused the expansion of coal in the past decade thanks to their financial services to coal developers and projects. If they will not choose to phase out these activities, our future and that of generations to come are placed in greater peril. With this in mind, Withdraw from Coal continues to urge Philippine banks to have policies and timelines to phase out coal in their work,” ayon kay Bishop Gerry Alminaza ng Diocese of San Carlos, at co-convenor ng WFC.

Nabatid na ang mga may malaking halaga ng mga pautang at nagkaloob ng underwriting ay ang Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Banco De Oro (BDO), at Philippine National Bank (PNB) na nagkakahalaga ng US $3,480.86 milyon, $2,518.9 milyon, at $1,607.28 milyon.

Ang nabanggit na mga bangko umano ang nangunguna at pinaka-expose sa coal. Ang BPI at BDO ay may total financing account na 44 porsyento.

“We, however, appreciate how open the bank has been to engaging with stakeholders in WFC, and believe that its score would improve in future rounds of grading, if only the hopes they shared for a power portfolio dominated by renewables by the end of this decade will be translated into a public position against coal,” ayon naman kay Gerry Arances, executive director ng Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED).

“Until then, we stand with the suffering victims in communities host to coal projects they funded, such as those in Pagbilao, Limay, and Atimonan, in demanding accountability,” dagdag pa ni Arances.

Ang proseso ng ‘scoring’ ay na-modelo matapos ang pagsasanay ng international fossil fuel finance research organizations gaya ng Urgewald and Reclaim Finance, ang grupong nasa likod ng naunang inisyatibo ng ‘Coal Policy Tool and the Global Coal Exit List.’ (TJ DELOS REYES)