Manila Bulletin
by Tara Yap
September 1, 2016
Villagers in Semirara, Antique, are alarmed by what they believe is the impending closure of the coal mine in the island.
A group of residents held a rally recently, carrying placards with appeals Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Gina Lopez to consider the socio-economic repercussions if the Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) is shut down.
image: http://www.mb.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/h1-300x209.jpg
NO TO MINE SHUTDOWN – Residents of Semirara hold up placards appealing to DENR Secretary Gina Lopez not to shut down the coal mine in the island. (Tara Yap)
Jonathan Bulos, regional director of DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau, clarified there is no order from DENR to close down the country’s biggest coal mine.
Bulos’ office had, however, demanded an explanation from SMPC after finding evidence of violations of environmental rules.
In particular, the EMB said it found “no proper stockpiling and disposal of materials scooped out from settling ponds and other solid waste” at the SMPC’s Molave coal pit.
Lopez has criticized SMPC after Semirara residents complained that the firm was flouting environmental rules.
Maria Lourdes Avanceña-Arcenas, a social development consultant, said that the concerns raised by DENR are being addressed, and that SMPC has been carrying out numerous environmental rehabilitation projects.
Avanceña-Arcenas also said the SMPC is a subcontractor of the Department of Energy (DOE).
“Semirara is not owned by the company. It is owned by the Filipino people. We are only sub-contractors,” she said.
Semirara was declared as a national coal mining reservation in November 1940.
The state-owned Semirara Coal Corporation (SCC) ran the coal mine until 1997, when DMCI Holdings took over.
DMCI later renamed the firm SMPC, which was granted a government contract to mine coal from Semirara until July 2027.
The EMB conducted a two-day audit of the SMPC, a subsidiary of DMCI.
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