Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) on Monday questioned the Department of Energy’s (DOE) industrial policy, saying the ongoing coal bidding process could discourage potential investors from venturing into the Philippine energy sector.
The company asked the agency why a ‘highly successful’ industry is being shut down with zero benefit to the government, the public, or the local community.
The Consunji-led firm said it had paid P70.5 billion over 29 years and contributes P600 million annually to Caluya in Antique, transforming it into the country’s ‘wealthiest and most progressive municipality.’
The company also said it provides low-cost baseload electricity, with coal-fired power plants recording an average price of P4.05 per kWh in the Luzon-Visayas grid in September.
‘Why kill the golden goose for zero gain?’ SMPC’s statement read.
The National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc. (Nasecore) said, however, that SMPC is facing sharp operational and financial declines in 2026, driven by a 68 percent cut in capital expenditures, from P1.9 billion down from P5.9 billion in 2025, while it awaits coal contract auction results.
The consumer group also noted that its coal-specific spending plummeted by 83 percent to P800 million, leading to severe production drops and mass layoffs.
‘We observe only that, taken together, they paint a picture of an operation that is contracting, not expanding; withdrawing, not investing; and preparing to exit, not to perform. Can we reasonably expect if it remains to be the operator of the Semirara mine?’ Nasecore President Pete Ilagan said in a statement.
SMPC has argued publicly that its nearly five decades of operating experience make it uniquely qualified to continue as concessionaire. Nasecore said it ‘respects that argument in principle.’
‘Experience matters but SMPC’s coal production, which are mostly exported or used by contracted power plants, has barely made a difference in electricity prices,’ Ilagan said.
‘But experience is not the same as current or future performance. And the publicly available evidence suggests that the current performance of this concession is deteriorating on every measurable dimension: production volume, capital investment, workforce size, and operational reliability.’
SMPC’s coal operating contract (COC) will expire on July 14, 2027. Nasecore said that until that date, the concessionaire has obligations to the government that granted the concession, to the workers who depend on it, to restore mined out pits and return the cost-recovered equipment to the government, as well as to the communities that host it, and to the electricity consumers who ultimately pay for its output.
Nasecore did not say which entity should win the next Semirara coal contract.
‘That is the DOE’s decision to make. But we insist that the decision be based on what a bidder commits to delivering going forward, in tangible and guaranteed economic benefits to the government and to the Filipino consumers – not on how long it held a contract whose performance is visibly declining,’ Ilagan said.
SMPC has argued that the bidding rules require it to surrender to the government its assets like trucks and heavy equipment as a condition to submit a bid. ‘It is likely that the highest bidder with no mining experience will produce zero coal, resulting in zero royalty payments to the government, a complete defeat of the DOE’s objective of raising the most revenues.’
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‘The bidding rules discourage industrialization. We hope the DOE realizes that its bidding rules directly contradict the sales pitch of our top officials when they go abroad to invite investors.’