CITY OF SAN FERNANDO— Fees and taxes on sand brought in P459.242 million to the coffers of Pampanga since 2010, a report from the provincial government said.
The collections rose due to high demand for quarry materials by government infrastructure and other private projects, Arthur Punsalan, chief of the Pampanga environment and natural resource office (Pampanga-Enro), said on Monday.
A P50 increase on the P150 administrative fee per truckload starting Feb. 1 also contributed to the increase in collections, he said. Sand tax remains at P150 for each truckload. Based on the Local Government Code of 1991, the province, towns and villages divide the tax on a 30-30-40 percent sharing.
“I believe the cooperation of quarry operators, truckers, local governments, the quarry task force Kalam and ‘hustlers’ is very important to the operation of a system where graft has been reduced to an almost negligible level,” said Punsalan.
“Hustlers” are men who work independently from quarry operators or suppliers. They tell haulers where to get the best sand or rocks, earning between P100 and P300 daily.
The collection figure under the administration of Gov. Lilia Pineda surpassed by P77.757 million the collection of P381.450 million during the term of former Gov. Eddie Panlilio.
More collections
Pineda could still improve collections if Kalam and the Pampanga-Enro strictly regulate the quarry and hauling operations of companies owned by local officials or their relatives, sources from the quarrying industry told the Inquirer.
The local civil society group Kapampangan Manalakaran Inc. said Pineda should enforce environmental laws to protect rivers and mountains from indiscriminate and illegal quarrying.
More than 50 farmers in Porac town have opposed the renewal of the permit of Clarkstone Corp. because the company made a large pit beside a river, diminishing the supply of irrigation water.
Kalam personnel last week attended a training on the use of portable weighing scales to help the Department of Public Works and Highways implement Republic Act No. 8794 (the law imposing a user’s charge on owners of all types of vehicles) and to stop overloading among sand haulers.
The provincial government last year bought six pairs of portable weighing scales, worth P5.1 million, but these have yet to be used.
Kalam is also completing the registration of 3,000 trucks hauling sand from Pampanga so it could properly monitor quarrying activities here. Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon