MAGALANG, Pampanga—Gov. Lilia Pineda set a collection target of P400 million in fees and taxes from Mt. Pinatubo’s sand this year, after the provincial government posted a record in its annual collection last year.
Pineda said the province collected P236.1 million last year, the highest since 1999, but an increase could be attained this year because the national government, through the Department of Public Works and Highways, is set to implement in Central Luzon various infrastructure projects that will require sand.
The Investment Coordination Committee of the National Economic and Development Authority board approved the Arterial Road Bypass Project Phase 2 in Plaridel, Bulacan (P3.264 billion), Central Luzon Link Expressway Phase 1 (P15.113 billion) in Nueva Ecija to Aurora, Casecnan Multipurpose Irrigation and Power Project (P7.244 billion) in Pangasinan and Tarlac, and the Integrated Disaster Response and Climate Change Adaptation Measures in Low Lying Areas of Pampanga Bay (P4.655 billion).
The provincial government is also charging an additional P50 in the P150 administrative fee. It keeps this amount for regulating and monitoring small-scale and large-scale quarry operations.
The P150 sand tax is shared by the province, towns and barangays as set by the Local Government Code of 1991. “Revenues will go to the general budget to hopefully fund more social services, especially for health,” Pineda said.
The P236.1 million collected last year from the quarry industry surpassed the records of the administrations of past Gov. Eddie Panlilio in 2008 (P196.2 million) and the state-owned Natural Resources Development Corp. in 1999 (P145.2 million). Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon