Communities near coal-fired power plants in the Philippines still lack access to completed environmental and social assessments after an International Finance Corporation (IFC) panel upheld a decision to withhold the reports.
On March 18, the IFC Access to Information Appeals Panel upheld the denial of access to the reports’ executive summaries. The panel cited confidentiality agreements involving IFC, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) and a consultant, RCBC’s refusal to permit even redacted disclosure, and significant litigation risk if IFC released the material without the bank’s consent.
The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) investigation concerned IFC’s investment in RCBC and the bank’s application of IFC standards to coal-fired power plants. A 2017 complaint named 19 active or proposed plants; CAO found it eligible for review in relation to 10 plants financed by RCBC and one additional plant the bank had committed to finance.
A consultant assessed 10 plants and recorded 43 community and complainant issues attributed, or likely attributed, to them, alongside 186 recommendations. CAO’s Q3 FY2026 report says complainants and affected communities had not received the completed analyses. CAO said its available evidence did not show that any recommended mitigation measure had been put into effect at the subproject level.
IFC’s Access to Information Policy allows exceptions for some client financial, business, proprietary or other nonpublic information.
A 2023 CAO advisory note examined a sample of 16 IFC-financed projects whose complaints had been processed by CAO’s compliance function since 2018. IFC had waived environmental and social action items that did not meet requirements or extended their deadlines in 54% of cases, the note said. Those steps allowed disbursement while commitments remained unfulfilled. CAO said it found no documented analysis of the effects of those decisions or related disbursements.
IFC and MIGA’s update of their Sustainability Frameworks covers the Access to Information Policy, according to IFC’s published timeline. The dialogue phase is expected to end in December 2026, with public consultation anticipated to begin in January 2027 and last 12 to 24 months, according to the consultation framework.
