Lake Sebu coal operations widen

LAKE SEBU, South Cotabato — Cooal mining in Barangay Ned continues to widen its footprint as Daguma Agro Minerals Inc. (DAMI) ramps up extraction and pursues a major production increase, despite firm opposition from local communities, indigenous groups, environmental advocates, and restrictions under South Cotabato’s environment code.

DAMI operates under the Department of Energy’s Coal Operating Contract No. 126 and holds an estimated 95 million metric tons of coal reserves across roughly 2,000 hectares. San Miguel Corporation previously owned the firm and extended its contract to 2028, but DAMI was sold in 2022 to an undisclosed buyer, raising questions about its current ownership structure.

Field reports from 2023–2024 indicated full-scale commercial mining, with daily convoys of 35-ton trucks hauling coal from Ned to Maitum.

The company is now seeking to increase output from 3 million to 5 million metric tons annually starting 2025. In line with this plan, the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau has scheduled a public scoping session for the proposed P500-million expansion and the amendment of DAMI’s Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC).

The expansion proposal remains highly contentious. Critics say DAMI’s strip-mining practices violate the provincial ban on open-pit mining. Barangay Ned’s location within the geohazard-prone Allah Valley watershed has also heightened fears of landslides, sinkholes, and long-term ecological damage. Members of the T’boli and Dulangan Manobo communities report impacts including intrusion into ancestral domains, forest clearing, dust pollution, deteriorating roads, and a rise in vehicular accidents involving heavy coal trucks.

Despite a 2018 provincial vote disapproving the project, DAMI’s operations have continued to grow. Residents say environmental effects have worsened, while the company maintains that the expansion will generate economic opportunities. In response, Indigenous communities have intensified reforestation initiatives as a form of environmental resistance.

DAMI’s proposed expansion still requires updated permits and an amended ECC, with regulatory oversight increasingly challenged by conflicting economic and environmental interests. As production scales up, unresolved questions over community rights, environmental safety, and corporate transparency persist.