ILOILO City – Have Chinese vessels been docking at the port of Semirara Island in Caluya, Antique notwithstanding the enhanced community quarantine?
Gov. Rhodora Cadiao wanted to know. She wrote a letter to the Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) demanding an explanation.
SMPC operated a coal mine in Semirara Island.
Cadiao cited a Facebook post of Bong Sanchez, president of the environmental group Save Antique Movement. Sanchez posted a photo of what were suspected to be Chinese vessels docked at the Semirara port on April 18.
“May sulat dya ako addressed sa Semirara corporation. Ano ginahimu nanda dyan,” Cadiao told Panay News. “Gusto ta mabal-an ang sabat nila.”
She also wanted to be clarified about the following:
* whether or not the suspected Chinese vessels had unloaded or loaded up cargoes
* what kind or type of cargoes were unloaded or loaded up
* did the vessels’ crew have contact with local residents
* who authorized the vessels to dock at the port
* were appropriate quarantine protocols observed
Cadiao previously asked SMPC to only have skeletal force working at its coal mine so as to observe social distancing; this was after the emergence of Antique’s first confirmed case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – a 74-year-old male connected with SMPC.
The man, a resident of Parañaque City, Metro Manila, came to Antique on March 9 via a private plane.
Just this Monday, April 20, three close contacts of this man also tested positive for COVID-19. All three were connected with SMPC, too.
As of yesterday, Antique had nine confirmed cases of COVID-19. One remained in a hospital, three quarantined at home while five were isolated in their local government units’ identified quarantine facility.
For her part, Antique’s Cong. Loren Legarda called for an investigation.
“I want a full-blown investigation into Semirara coal mining, the entry of Chinese vessels, previous deaths caused by unsafe mine operation, possible violations of health protocols during COVID, and transparency in the use of the national wealth fund,” according to Legarda.
Sanchez posed on Facebook: “(The) presence of Chinese vessels in the island worries residents…”
Aside from COVID-19, according to Sanchez, the residents were also concerned about “the thick coal dusts contaminating the air and water emanating from the conveyor when loading coal, and from the stockpile.”
The dusts, he warned, “pose hazard to people’s health and the marine life.”
“The haze caused by fine coal dust has long been raised by residents of Semirara to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources but has never been addressed. The people’s complaint has always been dismissed by the Multi-partite Monitoring Team (MMT),” Sanchez lamented./PN
