SAN JOSE, Antique – The Save Antique Movement (SAM) urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to probe the mudslide incident at the Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC) recently.
SAM president Bong Sanchez said residents of Culasi, Antique have been opposing the SMPC’s Molave Pit operation.
“Both the SAM and the residents have been opposing the operation of the Molave Pit since it started its operation two years ago because it is an offshore mining. The SMPC just made a temporary reclamation in order to create a barrier or seawall so that workers could mine the carbon in between the land and the sea. That is Molave Pit,” he added.
Recently, worker Pepito Andapat died at the Molave Pit after a mudslide. He was found dead two days after the incident.
“It is expected that a mudslide would occur anytime because there’s seepage in the area,” Sanchez said.
“I already mentioned this Molave Pit problem with both Antique congresswoman Loren Legarda and DENR secretary Roy Cimatu early this year. But our call has been ignored. Now that a worker has died, we are calling again the DENR, now hoping to conduct deeper probe,” he added.
In 2015, nine SMPC workers died after excavated soil and part of the northern Panian open mine pit collapsed, burying workers and heavy equipment.
Meanwhile, five workers also died and five others remained missing and presumed dead following the collapse of the western wall of the Panian pit on Feb. 13, 2013.
The Department of Energy earlier said it was investigating the incident./PN
