CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The Pampanga provincial government has
collected ₱1.056 billion in revenues from Mt. Pinatubo’s sand and
rocks in the whole of 2023, ensuring more local income for health and
other services to the people, Gov. Dennis “Delta” Pineda said on
Wednesday.
Last year’s gross collection has surpassed Pineda’s own annual
revenue records since he assumed office in 2019, a report from the
Office of the Provincial Treasurer (OPT) showed.
According to OPT records, the Pineda administration collected ₱459.6
million in 2019, ₱609.6 million and ₱782.5 million during the
COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, ₱738.6 million when the
governor enforced the anti-overloading law in 2022, and P1.056 billion
in 2023.
Totalling ₱3.647 billion in five years from 2019 to 2023, these were
generated through the P250- administrative fee and P150-sand tax and
various fees including penalties. The barangays, cities or towns, and
province share the sand tax at 40-30-30 percent, respectively. Capitol
retains the administrative fee to regulate the multi-million pesos
quarry industry, bringing the net provincial share or revenues to over
₱2 billion in five years.
The amounts ranked Pampanga as the Top 3 among 10 provinces with the
highest locally sourced revenues in 2021, earning also the 5th spot in
collection efficiency that year, Memorandum Circular No. 015-2022 of
the Department of Finance’s Bureau of Local Government Finance
showed.
“Malaki po ang aking pagpapasalamat sa mga quarry associations at
hauling companies dahil sa kanilang pagbabayad ng buwis, pagsunod sa
ating mga patakaran at pagtalima sa batas kontra- overloading (I am
extremely grateful to quarry associations and hauling companies for
their payment of taxes, for adhering to our policies and obeying the
anti-overloading law),” the governor said.
The governor also thanked former Bacolor Mayor Romeo “Buddy”
Dungca for supervising well the regulatory unit Kalam (Kapampangan a
Lulugud at Matapat). Business leaders had said that the resiliency of
the Kapampangans showed in how they transformed the disaster to a
kalam (blessing) by selling the sand and other volcanic debris from
the June 1991 eruption and lahar flows.
Pineda assured: “Ang kita po sa quarry ay ginagamit lagi sa mga
serbisyo para sa ating mga kabalen.”
He said his administration continues to be committed to balancing the
safety of the environment as well as government and private
infrastructure while regulating the industry.