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ILOILO CITY — A broad coalition of civil society groups in Antique has slammed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for approving the expansion of the coal mining project in Semirara Island in Caluya, Antique.
The Amlig Antique Alliance, composed of more than 40 organizations, condemned the agency's recent approval of an amended Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) for Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC), calling it a "betrayal" of local communities who have long suffered from poverty and environmental degradation.
"While SMPC earned P27.9 billion in 2023 and our local government collected billions in mining taxes for decades, the promised benefits never reached ordinary Antiquenos and Caluyanons," the alliance said.
The group pointed out that despite the massive revenue of the coal company, Caluya remains the fourth poorest town in the province.
They cited a data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that 27.92 percent of Caluya's residents lived in poverty in 2021, far above the provincial average of 18.2 percent.
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Amlig Antique claimed the economic windfall of SMPC from mining has failed to trickle down to the local community.
"Our people still suffer from lack of access to quality health care despite mining-related respiratory diseases, and scramble for unstable informal jobs while mining profits flow elsewhere. This is not development — this is systematic exploitation masquerading as progress," they said.
On June 11, SMPC announced that the DENR had granted an amended ECC for its planned P291-billion expansion of the Semirara Coal Mine Complex.
The ECC amendment expands the project area from 4,369.25 hectares to 5,221.75 hectares within SMPC's existing 13,000-hectare coal operating contract.
The approved ECC allows SMPC to include a new Acacia mine, with production expected to begin in 2026.
It is estimated to hold around 80 million metric tons of coal reserves and is projected to sustain the company's output after the depletion of its current mines.
SMPC's annual production is also expected to rise from 16 million to 20 million metric tons between 2025 and 2027.
The alliance appealed to DENR Secretary Raphael Lotilla, an Antiqueño himself, to reverse the decision.
The group is calling for the cancellation of the expansion, a full audit of Caluya's mining revenues, and a shift toward sustainable industries such as agriculture and ecotourism.
