Marcos loyalists claimed that the Bangui Bay Wind Farm was a project of presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. but was fact-checked by veteran actor Jaime Fábregas on Tuesday, November 16.
A Facebook page called Marcos Legacy back on September 8 “proudly claimed” that Marcos spearheaded the Bay Wind Farm project.
In his Twitter account, Fábregas pointed out that the young Marcos had nothing to do with the farm since it was the NorthWind Power Development Corporation (NPDC) project.
Ayala’s AC Energy Holdings currently own NPDC.
Ang Bangui Bay Wind Farm sa Ilocos Norte ay proyekto ng NorthWind Power Development Corporation (NPDC), base sa wind mapping study na isinagawa ng National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) ng Estados Unidos noong 1996. Walang kinalaman si Junior diyan.
— Jaime Fábregas (@fabre_jaime) November 16, 2021
Furthermore, the NPDC based the Bay Wind Farm project on the 1996 wind mapping study of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
The claim was also debunked by the news outlet Rappler on October 15.
According to Rappler, a world organization called World Wide Fund Nature (WWFN), the NPDC grabbed the opportunity to turn Ilocos Norte into one of the Philippines’ energy resources in 2005.
The project materialized after NPDC sought funding from the World Bank.
“The Project (Bangui Bay Project) would not only be the first of its kind in the Philippines, in fact, it will be the first in the whole ASEAN. World Bank through its PCF (Prototype Carbon Fund) has entered into an agreement with NorthWind on the purchase of Carbon Credits,” said World Bank in a statement in 2004.
The Department of Energy in 2020 also revealed that there were only three Wind Power Plants in the Philippines: Bangui Wind Power, Burgos Wind, and Caparispisan Wind.
Meanwhile, Marcos became the province’s governor for the second time in 2007 until 2010 before running for a seat in Senate, meaning it was when he was a governor that the project was initiated.
Hence, Marcos did not fund the Bay Wind Farm but supported its creation.
In 2014, the Bangui Bay Wind Farm project entered its third phase.
