Philippines plans coal-mine auction despite flooding and job losses

As the Coal Operating Contract No. 5 for Semirara Island approaches its July 2027 deadline, the Department of Energy is preparing a new auction that emphasizes maximum state revenue. The mine’s Acacia pit is currently flooding at an estimated 30,000 cubic metres per hour—equivalent to twelve Olympic-size pools each hour—and a dam failure on September 20 has forced a halt to critical stripping work. SMPC has announced 1,458 redundancies and slashed its 2026 coal output to 12 million metric tons, down nearly 40% from the 2025 record.

Local entrepreneur Janice Lim reports declining sales, while the Divine Word School, a major beneficiary of SMPC’s P90 million annual tuition grant, now faces an uncertain future for its 1,500 students. The government terminated a prior bidding round in September, citing seawater intrusion and legal disputes, but plans to restart the process within months, leaving little time for a new operator to secure financing, equipment, and skilled staff. Critics warn that awarding the contract to the highest bidder without proven technical competence could trigger a national energy crisis and shift remediation costs onto electricity consumers.