Local Quezon activist groups and residents condemned the plan to construct the 247-megawatt Banahaw Wind Power Project of GigaWind4, Inc., a subsidiary of ACEN Corporation of the Ayala Group.

According to the Save Bundok Banahaw Network (SBBN), the project threatens the community and the environment and will destroy Mount Banahaw. The project covers 4,567 hectares on the boundary of Sariaya, Quezon and in the barangays of Alitao, Anos, Baguio, Bukal Ibaba, Bukal Ilaya, Calantas, Calumpang, Gibanga, Ipilan, and Malaoa in Tayabas City.

Out of the 38 wind turbine generators (WTG), 28 will rise within a 3-kilometer radius of the Mount Banahaw-San Cristobal Protected Landscape (MBSCPL), while the remaining will stand within 10 kilometers of Tayabas City’s “heritage and cultural site”.

“Banahaw’s forests, waterfalls, rivers, and fertile lands sustain farming and livestock raising—the main livelihood of residents. Tampering with this delicate ecosystem will only lead to flooding, land degradation, loss of livelihood, and eviction of residents” explained the SBBN.

Beyond its ecological importance, the mountain is sacred, holding deep spiritual and cultural value for Quezon and Laguna communities.

Critics branded the wind farm as a “false development project.” They said it is no different from the quarry operations in Sariaya that destroyed and altered the landscape and threatened the residents’ food security.

The group said the project forms part of the Ayala family’s long history of land grabbing, as evident in Lupang Tartaria in Silang, Cavite. The Banahaw wind project represents another form of “development aggression” that serves the interests of big companies in exchange for environmental destruction and community displacement.

“They market it as green and renewable energy, but the real motive is amassing profit without regard for nature or people,” the SBBN added.

The SBBN called on all Sariaya and Tayabas residents and all environmental protection advocates nationwide to oppose the project.

Aside from the Banahaw Wind Farm, four other wind farms are being built in Quezon. These include the 345 MW Quezon North Wind Project between Mauban and Real, Quezon, and the 500 MW Real Wind Energy project in Real, Quezon—both owned by ACEN Corp.—the 62.4 MW Alabat Island Wind Project of Alternergy Holdings Corp., and the 200 MW Quezon Wind Power Project of Energy World Kanan River Corp. in General Nakar, Quezon.