Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines — Consunji-led Semirara Mining and Power Corp., the country’s largest coal mine, has received the order from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources requiring it to explain alleged violations or face suspension of its environment compliance certificate. The DENR has given Semirara seven days to comply following alleged violations in its Molave Coal Mine Expansion Project. “We received from the DENR a show-cause letter… directing us to explain and/or comply within seven days from why its ECC should not be cancelled,” Semirara said in a statement. Based on the agency’s fact finding last May, DENR said there was “no proper stockpiling and disposal of the materials scooped out from the settling ponds, and other solid wastes impermanent, stabilized areas to avoid pollution of any water body and drainage systems, and maintaining them in safe and non-polluting conditions.” Environment Secretary Gina Lopez said “Semirara has to get its act together. While its producing the coal needed by the country, they can’t adversely affect the lives of the farmers and fishermen.” But she earlier admitted that closing Semirara will not be a piece of cake for the department as it produces 90 percent of the coal and supplies 30 percent of the power requirement of the country. “They are not that easy to close because if we do that it will affect the electric supply of the country,” Lopez said. “But the problem is that the boiler of their coal plants are not designed to take on high-quality coal. They Read More …

The suspension is part of a DENR audit on mining in the Philippines. Danny Jovica, File GUIUAN, EASTERN SAMAR, Philippines — Miners and residents of Manicani mine of the Hinatuan Mining Corp. have called the ongoing audit of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) “unfair and baseless” and appealed for the lifting of the suspension of its ore transport permit. “The audit is unfair. It did not pass through the right procedure. We were audited for three hours only. They have not given us any opportunity to talk to them. We want to express our side,” HMC community relations manager Francis Malones said. “Majority [of the residents] does not know what is happening. They [audit team] only checked our ECC (environment compliance certificate) and safety plan. The suspension was only coursed through our head office,” he added. “We were supposed to know the results right after the audit. But we were only informed days after that,” he added. The HMC is seeking further explanation from the DENR and the audit team and an appeal to lift the suspension. “Nickel Asia has volunteered to appeal for a re-audit and we are ready anytime,” HMC project manage Manolito Javar said. “We are waiting for the DENR to schedule the audit of the HMC stockpile removal operations on Manicani as soon as possible so that the loading can resume leading to the removal of an environmental hazard and the generation of much needed income for the residents,” NAC Corporate Communications vice Read More …

Money sent home by Filipinos abroad expanded 4.8 percent to $2.33 billion in June. File photo MANILA, Philippines – Money sent home by Filipinos abroad expanded 4.8 percent to $2.33 billion in June, bringing the first half tally closer to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s forecast for the year. The latest growth figure was the biggest since the 8.4 percent recorded in February. For the first semester, remittances hit $13.19 billion, up 3.2 percent year-on-year. BSP projects a growth rate of four percent this year. Last year, money from overseas Filipinos, a key economic driver that boosts consumer purchasing power, increased 4.6 percent. “The continued demand for skilled Filipino workers abroad supported the steady remittance inflows,” the central bank said in a statement. Citing data from the Philippine Overseas Employment and Administration, BSP said the number of deployed new workers abroad hit 316,716 in the first half, adding to more than 10 million Filipinos abroad. Broken down, land-based workers rose 0.9 percent, while their sea-based counterparts dropped 55.6 percent. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In terms of remittances sent, land-based workers also accounted for the bulk at $10.4 billion as against sea-based employees with $2.8 billion as of June. Majority of remittances, accounting for 80 percent of the total, came from the US, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, the UK, Japan, Qatar, Kuwait, Hong Kong and Germany. “The steady stream of remittances was (also) supported by the efficient network of bank and non-bank remittance Read More …

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) inched up 4.31 points to settle at 7,960.17, while the broader All Shares index finished at 4,745.65, higher by 22.83 points or 0.48 percent. Most sectors ended in positive territory led by the property sector with a gain of 1.16 percent. AP/Bullit Marquez, file photo MANILA, Philippines – The local stock market closed relatively flat yesterday, consolidating after second quarter corporate earnings reports and ahead of the second quarter gross domestic product (GDP). The government is expected to release second quarter GDP on Aug. 18. 2TradeAsia.com said election spending may have boosted second quarter economic growth. “For the second quarter, the consensus is 6.6 percent. With the presidential election held in May, spending may have boosted, increasing the chances for the second quarter GDP growth to beat consensus and prior quarter’s,” it said. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) inched up 4.31 points to settle at 7,960.17, while the broader All Shares index finished at 4,745.65, higher by 22.83 points or 0.48 percent. Most sectors ended in positive territory led by the property sector with a gain of 1.16 percent. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Total value turnover reached P10.42 billion, with decliners ahead of advancers, 108 to 87. Meanwhile, forty nine stocks were left unchanged. Aside from GDP results, there are a few more companies that are expected to release their first half earnings next week. Since last week, companies have been reporting relatively better than expected first half Read More …