Residents of Barangay Ned, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato and Barangay Tuanadatu, Maitum in Sarangani questioned how Daguma Agro Minerals Inc (DAMI) and Bonanza Energy Resources Inc (BERI) were authorized to mine coal.

Residents said the area currently mined is not covered by the Coal Operating Contract awarded by the Department of Energy since 2002 and thus its operation does not comply with the law. They added that it does not have an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) and Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) which are both legal requirements to operate a mine in an area.

These two companies are subsidiaries of San Miguel Corporation (SMC). Together with the Sultan Energy Philippines Corporation, they mined the 17,000-hectare land in Barangay Ned. Lignite or brown coal is mined in the area, which is called the lowest type of coal because it emits high carbon dioxide when used in plants due to its high moisture content and low energy density. In general, coal is the dirtiest source of energy.

Mining itself will cause pollution, contamination of water and destruction of its channels. Among the fears that the mine will contaminate include the Kabulnan and Allah rivers that flow to Liguasan Marsh which is an important fishery resource. The Allah River, on the other hand, is the main source of irrigation for the vast agricultural lands in South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.

SMC says it uses a “side-stripping” method in its coal extraction. But experts said this method is no different from the destructive and dangerous open-pit mining that the South Cotabato local government prohibits. The mine has only been operating for some time, yet the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office has already reported sinkholes and landslides in Barangay Ned sites. In a 2019 MGB report, coal mining in porous soil like Ned will result in landslides and should be “prepared for.”

Photos posted by residents on social media show large pits dug by the company in large parts of the Ned mountains. They said big trucks travel daily from here, transporting coal to the company’s port in Barangay Kalaong in Maitum. The SMC “rent” these trucks from local politicians, who remain silent on the severe effects of mining on their community, including the traversing of trucks too heavy for barangay roads.

For a long time, these companies’ operation stopped due to the strong opposition of the Barangay Ned people. Militarization was the state’s response to the widespread resistance that led to the massacre of eight Lumads on December 3, 2017. Among those killed by the soldiers was the leader of Tboli-Dulangan Manobo, Datu Victor Danyan, his two sons, Victor Jr. and Artemio and Pato Celardo, Samuel Angkoy, To Diamante, Bobot Lagase, and Mateng Bantel. Until now, their relatives are still crying for justice.

For more details, read “South Cotabato residents resist San Miguel Corporations’ carbon mining” (Ang Bayan, November 07, 2022).