BY TARA YAP
ILOILO CITY — The threat of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is hindering the probe on the death of a miner at Semirara Island, the country’s largest coalmine in Caluya town, Antique province.
Antique Governor Rhodora Cadiao said she is supposed to send a technical working group (TWG) to Semirara to physically inspect the incident site, but members expressed concern.
“They are afraid of possible COVID-19 infection,” Cadiao said in a phone interview.
This came after as Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) confirmed the July 20 death of its excavators, who was hit by a limestone boulder that fell at the Narra coal pit.
Aside from fear of getting infected in the island that had previous COVID-19 cases, Cadiao said it would be hard for the TWG to travel due to additional restrictions.
“For now, we can only wait for the initial report coming from SMPC,” Cadiao admitted.
This was also echoed by the Western Visayas regional office of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB-6), an attached agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
EMB-6 Regional Director Ramar Niel Pascua said it is waiting for SMPC to submit its incident report to determine if there is environmental violation.
“If there is, then we have to send our team. But if it’s an operational incident, then we do not need to go there,” Pascua said. (Tara Yap)
