Consunji readies bid for Semirara coal contract

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February 20, 2026 | 12:00am

ZAMBOANGA , Philippines — Tycoon Isidro Consunji, chairman of Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC), said the company is gearing up for the looming auction of its coal contract  and will come prepared with a stronger offer.

“We will provide the government with the most advantageous mining plan,” Consunji told visiting journalists on the sidelines of a plant visit here in the municipality of Sirawai, site of the Consunji family’s rubber and palm oil plantation.

The Department of Energy (DOE) said it would auction off the contract to operate Semirara mine in Antique instead of heeding SMPC’s bid to extend the coal operating contract for an additional 13 years.

“Our direction is to have it (contract) auctioned. They said we cannot renew it,” Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said, referring to the Department of Justice’s opinion on the extension.

The government is set to open the bidding for the coal contract on Feb. 27.

Under a pre-determined area (PDA) bid round, the DOE will offer 10 blocks on Semirara Island.

The auction will also include three blocks in Amulung and Iguig, Cagayan, and five blocks in Benito Soliven, Naguilian and Cauayan, Isabela.

A PDA bid round is a competitive process in which the government offers identified resource areas for development and production. This allows qualified parties to participate under a transparent evaluation and award system.

Through this auction, the DOE aims to promote the responsible development of the country’s indigenous coal resources while protecting public safety, the environment and the welfare of host communities.

Bidders will have 60 days to submit applications, with a pre-submission conference 20 days after launch.

All eyes are on the upcoming auction and whether or not it would attract the country’s top conglomerates.

The group of tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan, the Consunji Group’s partner in Maynilad Water Services Inc., said the company is interested in looking at the contract, given its coal assets including the planned 1,200-megawatt (MW) ultra-supercritical coal-fired facility in Atimonan, Quezon.

Pangilinan said it’s better for Meralco PowerGen Corp. or MGEN to take a look at the contract.

No other tycoon has formally announced interest in the offer but Consunji said the new investor would need at least P3 billion per metric ton or at least P45 billion annually for the 15-million-metric-ton coal operation.

Analysts have noted that this may not be very feasible for a new investor as it would only operate the contract for eight years, which is the estimated remaining life of the mine.

SMPC shares rallied yesterday, closing at P25.60 per share, up by 13.53 percent after plunging by as much as 23.5 percent on Monday. –  Brix Lelis