By Juzel L. Danganan
MANILA, July 30 (PNA) – Semirara Mining & Power Corp. said Thursday that it has received the suspension certificate for its Integrated Management System (IMS) from the Certification International Philippines Inc. (CIPI) due to the accident in the Panian mine.
”We disclose that today, July 30, 2015 we receive a letter from Certification International Philippines, Inc. (CIPI) suspending the Company’s Certification on its Integrated Management System (IMS) under ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004, and OHSAS 18001:2007 in view of the suspension of the Company’s Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) and the on-going investigation by the Department of Energy relative to the accident at the Company’s Panian mine last July 17, 2015,” Semirara Mining said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Thursday.
The company said the suspension on the ISO certificates would be lifted when the Department of Energy (DOE) also revokes the suspension order.
“The suspension of the Company’s ISO Certificates will be lifted upon DOE’s and the Environmental Management Bureau’s (EMB’s) lifting of their suspension orders,” it said.
However, CIPI said it would also conduct an on-site audit verification of the corrective actions for the IMS.
On Wednesday, DOE Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Secretary Zenaida Monsada said the office would conduct further investigations on the accident, adding it might take a while to be completed. She could not give a concrete timeline.
Last week, Semirara said it would suspend coal export shipments to prioritize local supply, with 96.9 percent of the country’s production found in the island.
Semirara Mining & Power Corp. supplies coal to six power plants in Luzon and Visayas, while also has transactions with cement customers.
Semirara Mining is a wholly-owned subsidiary of DMCI Holdings Inc. (PNA)