Semirara Mining stands firm on compliance

MANILA, Philippines - Semirara Mining and Power Corp. stood firm it was compliant in its obligations under environment compliance and has highlighted several issues in the alleged violations of its Molave project raised by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

This was the company’s response after the DENR required it to explain why its environment compliance certificate (ECC) should not be cancelled.

Based on the Revised Procedural Manual for DENR Administrative Order 30, Semirara said the Notice of Adverse Findings should have been given within 72 hours after the Inter-Agency Fact Finding/Field visit held last May 23 to 27, 2016.

“In this case, notice was received by the company only on Aug. 15, 2016 or more than 60 days after the May 2016 fact finding/field visit,” it said.

The company also said the Notice of Adverse Findings also “did not state or provide specific details on how and where the violation was committed” and was also not brought up during the Inter-Agency Debriefing Session held on June 29.

In its previous disclosure, Semirara said results of the fact finding/field visit showed the company allegedly failed to comply with one of the conditions provided in its ECC for its Molave Coal Mine Expansion Project.