Saturday, December 20, 2008 Town to charge mining, power explorations
TABUK CITY, Kalinga -- The multiplier effect of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's successful revenue generation efforts to address the problem on mass poverty has found its way to Pasil town when it passed an ordinance empowering the local government unit (LGU) to charge fees on power and mines exploration in the area.
Ordinance 2008-12 of Pasil, which amended the revenue code of the LGU, now charges annual occupation fee for power and mining firms doing exploration activities in the place. This ordinance has been affirmed by the Provincial Board.
Under said ordinance, geothermal explorations are charged P40 per hectare; P50 per hectare for metallic minerals; and P20 for non-metallic minerals, also per hectare except for sand and gravel.
Pasil is home to the Batong Buhay Gold Mines and vast sulfur deposits.
The fees levied in the ordinance shall be paid to the Municipal Treasurer's Office immediately upon the start of exploration.
In cases when exploration permits are acquired within the middle of the year, occupation fee shall accrue on the 1st day of January each year. Proceeds of the occupational fee shall entirely be credited to the general fund of the town.
Pasil Vice Mayor Charlemagne Mosing said the revenue measure is meant to generate local revenues for development projects in the municipality.
Pasil, a fifth-class municipality, is surviving on internal revenue allotment from the National Government.
Mayor James Edduba lauded the Municipal Council for coming up with the measure. Before amending the revenue code, the only source of the meager income of the town comes from realty and income taxes.
"This is long overdue. For so many years, power and mining companies had been exploring geothermal energy, metallic and non-metallic minerals in the natural resource-rich municipality; but don't give full compliance with their obligations to also contribute to the development of the area," he said. (Press release)
