Semirara tragedy due to lapse in operation, not rain — local community leader

(Updated 6:35 p.m.) The accident at Semirara Mining Corporation’s open pit coal operations in Antique was a result of lapses in offshore operations and not merely a rain-induced landslide, a community leader in the Caluya Island said Friday. At a media briefing on Friday in Quezon City, Bernardo Magdaug from a local environmental group Isalba Ang Caluya said the wall collapsed because water from the ocean flowed into the mine pit, causing the soil to become unstable. Also, he noted that the mine pit is near the sea. “Ang pinakamakapal na coal ay ‘dun po sa dagat. Gumuho siya [wall] dahil itinulak po ng tubig. ‘Yung pagpasok ng tubig parang bukal kasi,” Magdaug said. He said there was no rain in the island two or three days before the mine wall collapsed, and that a crack had shown on the open pit wall a month before the tragedy. “Nagrereklamo ‘yung mga minero at natakot nang pumasok ‘dun pero pine-pressure daw sila ng mga senior staff,” he said. Jaybee Garganera, Alyansa Tigil Mina national coordinator, who was also at the media briefing, said the bottom of the pit was already 300 meters below sea level. “May-moisture na ‘yung wall kaya [kalaunan] gumuho na siya… Ang mining incident ay naa-attribute sa ulan... [pero kung ulan] madalas ay mag-overflow ang pit... hindi landslide,” he said. Members of the anti-mining groups who were at Friday's briefing said Semirara Mining Company should be held accountable for its failure to set up safety measures to prevent the landslide from happening. “Kung may mga sitwasyon na ganito, halimbawa two years nang nakitaan ng seepage sa wall, dapat may ginawa na sila,” Garganera said. Semirara external public relations officer Resty Perez of Semirara told GMA News Online that they are in the process of preparing a statement. Resident Manager George San Pedro was unavailable for comment as he was monitoring the rescue operations. Semirara is the nation's only large-scale coal producer. Yet, on the company's website, there is no mention of mine safety or workplace safeguards except for a line about an ISO (International Organization for Standardization) certification for its "Safety Management System." Five were killed, while five are still missing when a section of the west wall in the Panian pit of the Semirara Mining Corp. collapsed on the night of Feb. 14. Department of Energy secretary Jericho Petilla earlier said a landslide caused the mine collapse. "I’m not familiar with the technical aspect ng mina pero itong incident na ito, it’s more of a landslide than anything else." But energy undersecretary Ramon Oca said a landslide is "unusual" because there were no rains in the area. In a phone interview with GMA News Online on Friday, Oca agreed that it was “unusual” that the landslide was caused by the rain. “What is unusual kasi hindi na ngayon tag-ulan… Hindi basta basta magro-rockslide ‘yan eh. Wala pa ngang ganyang rockslide because of the precautionary measures of the company,” Oca said. The DOE official said their initial findings showed that water accumulated under the pit, causing it to collapse. “Kasi naipon ‘yung tubig ‘dun sa loob, bumigat ‘yung lupa and then meron plain na mahina so naipon at naipon ng tubig, nagkaroon ng rockslide,” Oca said. Also, he cited a statement from the company that a crack was on the wall --around 10 to 20 mm in length, but the firm said that was no cause for alarm. “Had there been cracks na makikita 'dun, walang magtatrabaho 'dun. It's very costly to have an accident,” he said. Oca said they would have to wait for the official findings of their investigation. He maintained however that Semirara complied with safety standards, otherwise the company would not have secured an Environment Compliance Certificate with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. “(Ang Semirara), mayroon din silang ISO on environmental management, which means they are very much compliant with their ECC. ISO are international levels. (That means) they are always taking a look at the safety side of things,” Oca said. In a statement, Semirara's resident manager George San Pedro said the company is extending "full support" to the families of the affected personnel. Oca said they are continuing rescue operations. He noted though that water continues to seep out of the pit wall, hampering rescue operations. “Patuloy na may water seepage. We're looking at how to stop the water seepage para mas more effecieint and to ensure the safety of the recovery team,” Oca said. Retrieval operations were temporarily suspended on Feb. 18, after two new landslides occurred at the same site due to rainy weather. — LBG/KBK/ELR, GMA News