The Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. (PMPI) expresses its deep sorrow over the confirmed death of a bulldozer operator following the March 1, 2026 landslide at the Semirara mining pit in Antique. In a report by The Manila Times on March 3, 2026, the operator was buried when a portion of the open pit collapsed. This tragic incident adds to the growing list of lives lost in the operations of Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC), thus our call for justice and support for the bereaved families, investigation over the occupational safety and environmental impact of mining in Semirara, and transparency of these investigations and reports.
This is not the first time that Semirara’s open-pit mining operations in Antique have resulted in death and injury. In July 2020, SMPC confirmed a fatal accident after a limestone boulder struck an excavator unit near a quarry site, as reported by Philippine Daily Inquirer. In October 2019, a worker was buried in a mudslide at the Molave Pit. In May 2018, one worker was killed and two others injured when the Panian open pit mine collapsed, according to Philippine News Agency. In September 2016, three workers drowned after inhaling poisonous gas inside a barge at the SMPC pier. In 2015, nine workers died after a collapse of excavated soil and part of the northern Panian open mine pit buried workers and heavy equipment. In February 2013, five workers died while five others went missing and were presumed dead following the collapse of the western wall of the Panian Pit. These cited repeated incidents demonstrate a troubling pattern of occupational neglect that cannot simply be dismissed.
Open pit mining, by its very nature, carries significant environmental and social risks including but not limited to social displacement, the safety of communities, pollution, future livelihood opportunity losses, biodiversity loss, dam breaches, toxic chemical or metal leakages, water depletion, and water body contamination. However, the frequency and severity of incidents in Semirara point to deeper systemic problems involving workplace safety standards, risk mitigation, monitoring, and corporate accountability. The mining pit has increasingly served as a graveyard for its workers while the surrounding environment and communities continue to suffer from the dangers of overall heightened climate vulnerability and ecosystem damage where it is operating.
PMPI maintains that the protection of workers’ lives, their safety, and the environment’s wellbeing must take precedence over mineral extraction and corporate profit. We call for an immediate and independent investigation of the March 1, 2026 landslide, an investigation to the safety of working conditions of all mining operations in Semirara, and full transparency of these reports. The bereaved family deserves restorative justice, adequate compensation, and long-term support. More importantly, the repeated fatalities compel a serious checks and reassessment of continued mining operations in Semirara. In light of the long history of deadly incidents and ongoing environmental destruction, PMPI reiterates its call to halt Semirara’s mining operations with the need to review Semirara mining’s safety compliance and environmental impact by the responsible duty-bearers from the government. No economic activity can justify the social and environmental costs of mining including the continued loss of workers’ lives and the degradation of the environment.
