By Jonathan L. Mayuga - July 15,
2019
ENVIRONMENTAL groups on Sunday
lauded the Department of Energy (DOE) for issuing a cease-and-desist order
(CDO) against Semirara Mining and Power Corp’s (SMPCs) coal-trading activities.
“Mining and trade in coal is dangerous to miners, the environment, and once the coal is used, to the general population. We, therefore, urge the DOE to ensure that all companies involved must scrupulously follow regulations for the protection of all Filipinos,” Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED) Executive Director Gerry Arances said in a statement.
“Mining and trade in coal is dangerous to miners, the environment, and once the coal is used, to the general population. We, therefore, urge the DOE to ensure that all companies involved must scrupulously follow regulations for the protection of all Filipinos,” Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED) Executive Director Gerry Arances said in a statement.
Semirara allegedly sold coal to a
buyer who was unable to provide a Coal Accreditation Certificate issued by the
DOE, prompting the agency to issue the CDO.
SMPC is the single major producer of
local coal in the Philippines, supplying coal to power plants, cement plants
and other small boilers.
In 2016, SMPC was able to produce
11.9 million MT run-of-mine coal. It posted a record-high coal shipment
of 12.8 million MT in the same year.
According to Arances, an anti-coal
advocate, further regulation of coal is in order, considering its hazards to
health and the environment. “Perhaps it is now time to consider even stricter
control over its extraction and use, or even to ban its use outright in the
country,” Arances said.
The current law which guides the use
of coal was first passed in 1977. “Given the difference between what we
knew in 1977 and what we know now, the law on coal use is practically obsolete
and should be changed. We must protect our people and the environment,” he
said.
The Philippines continues to build
coal-fired power plants, contrary to a general trend around the world for the
reduction of the use of this fossil fuel.
“We welcome DOE’s courageous stance
against coal in this incident. We hope that this is the beginning of a trend
leading to a coal-free Philippines,” he said.
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