The Catholic Church has opposed the renewal of a coal mining contract on Semirara Island, in the central Philippines, citing its destructive effects on farmers and fisherfolk over the past five decades. Source: Crux.
The Church lodged its opposition through a pastoral statement signed by Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of San Carlos.
The 66-year-old bishop is also the president of Caritas Philippines.
The 50-year coal mining contract of Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC) — issued in 1977 — is set to expire on July 14, 2027. The company is led by Isidro Consunji, who, along with his siblings, was classified by Forbes magazine as the country’s fifth-richest man as of 2025.
The contract allows the SMPC to operate on Semirara Island, about 350 kilometres south of Manila. With a population of about 13,600 people, the island holds the country’s largest coal reserves, which SMPC has vowed to tap for “sustainable economic development”.
Bishop Alminaza, however, said coal mining on Semirara Island has come at a great price.
“Semirara hosts the largest open-pit coal mine in the Philippines. It is also an island of extraordinary life, being home to nearly all known mangrove species in the country, and once sustained by fishing, seaweed farming, and healthy coastal ecosystems,” the bishop said.
Unfortunately, coal mining “reorganised the island around extraction,” putting land, sea, and labour “at the service of profit”.
Decisions about the island were eventually made by institutions and boardrooms “far from the community.”
“Yes, employment was offered, but at what cost?” he said.
Bishop Alminaza called on the Philippines Government not to extend Semirara’s coal operating contract, not to reissue it under another corporate name, and not to disguise the continuation of the contract as “reform”.
He sought “a decisive coal phaseout, beginning now.”
“We do not condemn workers who depend on mining. We condemn a system that forces people to choose between survival and destruction,” Bishop Alminaza said.
FULL STORY
Church opposes renewal of 50-year coal mining deal in central Philippines (By Paterno R. Esmaquel II, Crux)
