c/o Protect Verde Island Passage (Protect VIP)
info@ceedphilippines.com
117C Matatag Street, Barangay CentralDiliman, Quezon City 1100
22 June 2023
MR. MASAHIRO KIHARA
President & Group CEO
MizuhoOtemachi Tower, 1-5-5 Otemachi,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8176, Japan
Re: Protect Verde Island Passage, Withdraw and Prohibit Financing to Companies Destroying
the Verde Island Passage
Mr. Kihara,
The Philippines is home to the Amazon of the Oceans, the Verde Island Passage (VIP). Nestled at theheart of Southeast Asia’s Coral Triangle, VIP houses over 300 coral species and about 1,736 shorefishspecies all within a 10-kilometer area - making it the most biodiverse marine habitat in the world. VIP
is identified as a high-priority conservation area for corals, reef fishes, mollusks, mangroves, seagrasses,
and cetaceans. It is a source of livelihood and sustenance for millions of Filipinos and a hotspot for
tourists wanting to be one with nature.
Unfortunately, the Amazon of the Oceans is under threat from a massive fleet of fossil gas power plants
and terminals including SMC Global Power-Excellent Energy Resources, Inc. (EERI) 1,700 MWBatangas Combined Cycle Power Plant project in Batangas, in which your institution was engaged forthe issuance of USD 600 million in securities, and proceeds would be used primarily for thedevelopment of the project1.

1

SMC Global Power, Disclosure Statement.
https://smcglobalpower.com.ph/storage/files/reports/Other%20Disclosures/SMC_Global_Power_Disclosur
e_6.9_.21_2.pdf

We, the Protect Verde Island Passage (Protect VIP) network, strongly oppose and have been highly
concerned about the environmental destruction posed by the fossil gas projects including the 1,700
MW Batangas Combined Cycle Power Plant, and the hazards it inflicts on the livelihood andsustenance of over two million of Filipinos depending on the VIP. We have raised concerns about theenvironmental and social impacts of this and other fossil gas projects in the VIP, along with frontline
communities, fisherfolk groups, and civil society. Inquiries and complaints filed against SMC Global
Power-EERI have also revealed serious lapses regarding its compliance with government permitting
requirements, namely issues with premature land conversion, illegal coconut tree cutting, and lack ofwater permits for power generation purposes, along with the failure to comply with certain reportorial
requirements under the terms of its Environmental Compliance Certificate - all of which have resulted
in multiple violations of the Philippine Environmental Impact Assessment Process, among other laws.
San Miguel’s proposed gas projects account for half of the planned gas expansion in the Philippines,
and by far the largest in Southeast Asia. Fossil gas has no place in the Philippines’ net-zero scenario. It is
critical for the Philippines to phase out all fossil fuels from the power sector by 2035, and many civic
groups are calling for an even earlier deadline. With the Philippines’ vast renewable energy sources ofabout 800 GW, there is an opportunity to hasten the shift to a genuinely sustainable powered future.
Investment shifts to renewable energy must follow.
Additionally, San Miguel Corporation, the parent company of SMC Global Power, was involved in therecent oil spill caused by a tanker carrying 900,000 liters of industrial oil that capsized off the coast ofOriental Mindoro. The oil is staining beaches black, dead fish are washed ashore, and mangroves aredying. Nearly 20,000 fisherfolk have been robbed of their livelihood due to a fishing ban since the oilspill began.
In 2022, San Miguel sought to hike power prices for two of its gas and coal fixed-cost contracts withthe country’s biggest distribution utility, Meralco, after reportedly losing up to 15 billion pesos due tofossil fuel price volatilities. The request was denied by regulation authorities, and San Miguel is now
going through legal battles to terminate said contracts. In its latest annual report, San Miguel’s powerarm reported a 22% loss in its operating income from the previous year. Recently, a Fitch group unit
also raised alarm over liquidity issues faced by SMC. Meanwhile, SMC’s EERI power plant project isnearing completion still without a power supply contract, after it terminated its contract withdistribution utility MERALCO earlier this year.

Over the past month, Protect VIP engaged European2 and US3 financial institutions to call to end
fossil gas financing in the Verde Island Passage. As a result, at Shell's AGM last month, DWS raisedquestions about the Verde Island Passage, whereas US banks responded favorably to the call forinvesting in renewable energy instead.
We now reach out to you with the same call to take immediate action to protect the VerdeIsland Passage by withdrawing and prohibiting financial support for companies that
endanger critically important and biologically diverse ecosystems and habitats and pose grave
reputational risks associated with such investments.
Signed,2

The Guardian, Filipino activists appeal to British banks over region devastated by oil spill.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/05/filipino-activists-appeal-to-british-banks-over-regi
on-devastated-by-oil-spill-aoe; Reuters, Filipino priest on mission in Europe to halt fossil fuel financing.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/filipino-priest-mission-europe-halt-fossil-fuel-financing-2023-05-12/
3
Business Mirror, Activists to ask US banks, financiers to stop funding marine corridor’s destruction.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2023/06/21/activists-to-ask-us-banks-financiers-to-stop-funding-marine-corr
idors-destruction/

c/o Protect Verde Island Passage (Protect VIP)
info@ceedphilippines.com
117C Matatag Street, Barangay CentralDiliman, Quezon City 1100
22 June 2023
MR. HIRONORI KAMEZAWA
President & Group CEO
MUFG Bank, Ltd.
2-7-1, Marunouchi,Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Re: Protect Verde Island Passage, Withdraw and Prohibit Financing to Companies Destroying
the Verde Island Passage
Mr. Kamezawa,
The Philippines is home to the Amazon of the Oceans, the Verde Island Passage (VIP). Nestled at theheart of Southeast Asia’s Coral Triangle, VIP houses over 300 coral species and about 1,736 shorefish
species all within a 10-kilometer area - making it the most biodiverse marine habitat in the world. VIP
is identified as a high-priority conservation area for corals, reef fishes, mollusks, mangroves, seagrasses,
and cetaceans. It is a source of livelihood and sustenance for millions of Filipinos and a hotspot for
tourists wanting to be one with nature.
Unfortunately, the Amazon of the Oceans is under threat from a massive fleet of fossil gas power plants
and terminals including SMC Global Power-Excellent Energy Resources, Inc. (EERI) 1,700 MW
Batangas Combined Cycle Power Plant project in Batangas, in which your institution has providedfinancing to a total of USD 249.37 from 2018 to 20224.
We, the Protect Verde Island Passage (Protect VIP) network, strongly oppose and have been highly
concerned about the environmental destruction posed by the fossil gas projects including the 1,700
MW Batangas Combined Cycle Power Plant, and the hazards it inflicts on the livelihood and4Banking on Climate Chaos, https://www.bankingonclimatechaos.org/#data-panel.

sustenance of over two million of Filipinos depending on the VIP. We have raised concerns about theenvironmental and social impacts of this and other fossil gas projects in the VIP, along with frontline
communities, fisherfolk groups, and civil society. Inquiries and complaints filed against SMC Global
Power-EERI have also revealed serious lapses regarding its compliance with government permitting
requirements, namely issues with premature land conversion, illegal coconut tree cutting, and lack ofwater permits for power generation purposes, along with the failure to comply with certain reportorial
requirements under the terms of its Environmental Compliance Certificate - all of which have resulted
in multiple violations of the Philippine Environmental Impact Assessment Process, among other laws.
San Miguel’s proposed gas projects account for half of the planned gas expansion in the Philippines,and by far the largest in Southeast Asia. Fossil gas has no place in the Philippines’ net-zero scenario. It is
critical for the Philippines to phase out all fossil fuels from the power sector by 2035, and many civic
groups are calling for an even earlier deadline. With the Philippines’ vast renewable energy sources ofabout 800 GW, there is an opportunity to hasten the shift to a genuinely sustainable powered future.
Investment shifts to renewable energy must follow.
Additionally, San Miguel Corporation, the parent company of SMC Global Power, was involved in therecent oil spill caused by a tanker carrying 900,000 liters of industrial oil that capsized off the coast of
Oriental Mindoro. The oil is staining beaches black, dead fish are washed ashore, and mangroves aredying. Nearly 20,000 fisherfolk have been robbed of their livelihood due to a fishing ban since the oilspill began.
In 2022, San Miguel sought to hike power prices for two of its gas and coal fixed-cost contracts withthe country’s biggest distribution utility, Meralco, after reportedly losing up to 15 billion pesos due tofossil fuel price volatilities. The request was denied by regulation authorities, and San Miguel is now
going through legal battles to terminate said contracts. In its latest annual report, San Miguel’s powerarm reported a 22% loss in its operating income from the previous year. Recently, a Fitch group unit
also raised alarm over liquidity issues faced by SMC. Meanwhile, SMC’s EERI power plant project isnearing completion still without a power supply contract, after it terminated its contract withdistribution utility MERALCO earlier this year.
Over the past month, Protect VIP engaged European5 and US6 financial institutions to call to end
fossil gas financing in the Verde Island Passage. As a result, at Shell's AGM last month, DWS raised

5The Guardian, Filipino activists appeal to British banks over region devastated by oil spill.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/05/filipino-activists-appeal-to-british-banks-over-regi
on-devastated-by-oil-spill-aoe; Reuters, Filipino priest on mission in Europe to halt fossil fuel financing.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/filipino-priest-mission-europe-halt-fossil-fuel-financing-2023-05-12/
6
Business Mirror, Activists to ask US banks, financiers to stop funding marine corridor’s destruction.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2023/06/21/activists-to-ask-us-banks-financiers-to-stop-funding-marine-corr
idors-destruction/

questions about the Verde Island Passage, whereas US banks responded favorably to the call forinvesting in renewable energy instead.
We now reach out to you with the same call to take immediate action to protect the VerdeIsland Passage by withdrawing and prohibiting financial support for companies thatendanger critically important and biologically diverse ecosystems and habitats and pose grave
reputational risks associated with such investments.
Signed,c/o Protect Verde Island Passage (Protect VIP)
info@ceedphilippines.com
117C Matatag Street, Barangay Central
Diliman, Quezon City 1100
22 June 2023
MR. AKIHIRO FUKUTOME
President and Chief Executive Officer
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
1-1-2, Marunouchi,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Re: Protect Verde Island Passage, Withdraw and Prohibit Financing to Companies Destroying
the Verde Island Passage
Mr. Fukutome,
The Philippines is home to the Amazon of the Oceans, the Verde Island Passage (VIP). Nestled at theheart of Southeast Asia’s Coral Triangle, VIP houses over 300 coral species and about 1,736 shorefish
species all within a 10-kilometer area - making it the most biodiverse marine habitat in the world. VIP
is identified as a high-priority conservation area for corals, reef fishes, mollusks, mangroves, seagrasses,and cetaceans. It is a source of livelihood and sustenance for millions of Filipinos and a hotspot for
tourists wanting to be one with nature.
Unfortunately, the Amazon of the Oceans is under threat from a massive fleet of fossil gas power plants
and terminals including SMC Global Power-Excellent Energy Resources, Inc. (EERI) 1,700 MW
Batangas Combined Cycle Power Plant project in Batangas in which your institution has provided
financing to a total of USD 249.37 from 2018 to 20227.
We, the Protect Verde Island Passage (Protect VIP) network, strongly oppose and have been highly
concerned about the environmental destruction posed by the fossil gas projects including the 1,700
MW Batangas Combined Cycle Power Plant, and the hazards it inflicts on the livelihood and7

Banking on Climate Chaos, https://www.bankingonclimatechaos.org/#data-panel.

sustenance of over two million of Filipinos depending on the VIP. We have raised concerns about theenvironmental and social impacts of this and other fossil gas projects in the VIP, along with frontline
communities, fisherfolk groups, and civil society. Inquiries and complaints filed against SMC Global
Power-EERI have also revealed serious lapses regarding its compliance with government permitting
requirements, namely issues with premature land conversion, illegal coconut tree cutting, and lack ofwater permits for power generation purposes, along with the failure to comply with certain reportorial
requirements under the terms of its Environmental Compliance Certificate - all of which have resulted
in multiple violations of the Philippine Environmental Impact Assessment Process, among other laws.
San Miguel’s proposed gas projects account for half of the planned gas expansion in the Philippines,
and by far the largest in Southeast Asia. Fossil gas has no place in the Philippines’ net-zero scenario. It iscritical for the Philippines to phase out all fossil fuels from the power sector by 2035, and many civic
groups are calling for an even earlier deadline. With the Philippines’ vast renewable energy sources ofabout 800 GW, there is an opportunity to hasten the shift to a genuinely sustainable powered future.
Investment shifts to renewable energy must follow.
Additionally, San Miguel Corporation, the parent company of SMC Global Power, was involved in therecent oil spill caused by a tanker carrying 900,000 liters of industrial oil that capsized off the coast of
Oriental Mindoro. The oil is staining beaches black, dead fish are washed ashore, and mangroves aredying. Nearly 20,000 fisherfolk have been robbed of their livelihood due to a fishing ban since the oilspill began.
In 2022, San Miguel sought to hike power prices for two of its gas and coal fixed-cost contracts withthe country’s biggest distribution utility, Meralco, after reportedly losing up to 15 billion pesos due tofossil fuel price volatilities. The request was denied by regulation authorities, and San Miguel is now
going through legal battles to terminate said contracts. In its latest annual report, San Miguel’s powerarm reported a 22% loss in its operating income from the previous year. Recently, a Fitch group unit
also raised alarm over liquidity issues faced by SMC. Meanwhile, SMC’s EERI power plant project isnearing completion still without a power supply contract, after it terminated its contract withdistribution utility MERALCO earlier this year.
Over the past month, Protect VIP engaged European8 and US9 financial institutions to call to end
fossil gas financing in the Verde Island Passage. As a result, at Shell's AGM last month, DWS raised

8The Guardian, Filipino activists appeal to British banks over region devastated by oil spill.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/05/filipino-activists-appeal-to-british-banks-over-regi
on-devastated-by-oil-spill-aoe; Reuters, Filipino priest on mission in Europe to halt fossil fuel financing.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/filipino-priest-mission-europe-halt-fossil-fuel-financing-2023-05-12/
9Business Mirror, Activists to ask US banks, financiers to stop funding marine corridor’s destruction.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2023/06/21/activists-to-ask-us-banks-financiers-to-stop-funding-marine-corr
idors-destruction/

questions about the Verde Island Passage, whereas US banks responded favorably to the call forinvesting in renewable energy instead.
We now reach out to you with the same call to take immediate action to protect the VerdeIsland Passage by withdrawing and prohibiting financial support for companies that
endanger critically important and biologically diverse ecosystems and habitats and pose gravereputational risks associated with such investments.
Signed,