Communities welcome Ayala Corp’s withdrawal from fossil gas project in Batangas City
- Media Communications
- Nov 18
- 3 min read
No Future in Fossil Gas!
Quezon City, Philippines — In a Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Inc. report dated Nov.14, 2025, Ayala Corp AC Energy (ACEN)'s Ace Enexor (ENEX) disclosed the discontinuation of the proposed Batangas Clean Energy (BCE) Project, stating that the decision aligns with ACEN's "strategic shift toward renewable energy generation."
The Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), together with the Batangas communities, lauds Ayala Group for heeding our call to withdraw from fossil gas. Last Oct. 6, residents from Barangays Pinamucan, Libjo, and Malitam in Batangas City, held a protest and sent an open letter to Ayala, calling on the latter to demonstrate transformational leadership in energy transition by withdrawing from the fossil gas project and supporting a just energy transition to renewables instead of fossil fuels.
"Relentless resistance leads to small wins. Aside from the fact that our people, especially children, acquire cardiovascular, skin, and various diseases from fossil-fueled projects, we consider Ayala's withdrawal as one of the reasons why we fight. The road towards climate justice may be steep, and we face obstacles in our fight, but we'll continue for the sake of future generations. Cheers to our continuous fight, Batangueños!" said Restituto Bobadilla, of Clean and Healthy Air for All Batanguenos (CABATANG), in Tagalog.
According to the PSE report, the inability to obtain an offtake contract to guarantee the BCE project's profitability, as well as the difficulties in finding a third investor due to the project's unclear offtake arrangements, were the main factors influencing the decision.
“The BCE Project is a 1,100 megawatt liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and a combined cycle gas turbine power plant. The gas development plans of the Philippines and Vietnam are now threatened by a global shortage of gas turbines, according to a new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). Costs for gas turbines have nearly tripled over the last two years as well. This should send a signal to companies, governments, and other institutions that there is no future in fossil gas. We should now focus on phasing out these dirty sources of energy and invest in 100% renewables,” said Ellenor Bartolome, senior executive officer on policy, campaigns, and communications of PMCJ.
“This is the reason for PMCJ's Campaign to call on Ayala to withdraw the BCE Gas project, since we believe that this is not aligned with the company’s business model now. In 2022, ACEN announced its full divestment of the South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation (SLTEC) coal-fired power plant through the energy transition mechanism (ETM). As they implement the world's first market-based ETM, there should be a framework for reparations and remedies for the harms caused by the coal-fired power plant in Calaca and affected communities' participation to ensure that it is carried through,” said Larry Pascua, senior energy officer of PMCJ.
In January 2025, the Batangas City Health Office reported that the most common illnesses in the city were respiratory infections (10,650 cases) and hypertension (10,315 cases). The local government unit stated that the condition is not directly linked to the high concentration of methane emissions from the fossil gas power plant, but residents claim otherwise and firmly believe that the source of their illness is significantly related to the operation of the fossil gas power plant in their community. Public health experts confirmed that prolonged exposure to methane gas primarily means extended periods of oxygen deprivation.
“Ayala today took a big step towards renewable energy by withdrawing from the fossil gas project. We look forward to the company’s many positive steps in the months and years to come. PMCJ challenges Ayala to build more renewables in the country through partnerships with local government units. The Philippines needs to hasten its shift to renewables in line with the global call of tripling RE by 2030,” Pascua ended. ###
FOR INQUIRIES:
Sheila Abarra
Senior Media and Communications Officer
Philippine Movement for Climate Justice
Viber:+639916692356