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Thursday, October 04, 2007
Pampanga guv vetoes ordinance on quarry
By Marna H. Dagumboy
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO –- Governor Eddie Panlilio has formally vetoed Ordinance 176, which he claimed was designed to “remove the power and authority of the governor.”
Ordinance 176 was approved recently by the Provincial Board, for the equitable distribution of quarry shares by abolishing the P150 administrative fee being collected by the Provincial Government from the P300 per truckload of sand.
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Aside from removing the power and authority from the governor, Panlilio cited that the new quarry scheme was enacted without mandatory public hearing and is contrary to the provisions of the Local Government Code specifically Section 138 in relation to Section 153, which stated that “the right to impose service fees and charges, administrative fee cannot be abolished.”
The governor claimed that the said ordinance violates the principle on the separation of powers of a co-equal branch -- the executive and the legislative.
Also, he said, it (ordinance) violates the principle on the “collection of the local taxes, fees, charges and other impositions shall in no case be let to any private person.”
He added that Ordinance 176 pushed by the Pampanga Mayors League (PML) also violates the right to association of quarry operators.
Lawyer Dante David, legal counsel of the Kapampangan Marangal Incorporated (KMI), enjoined Panlilio in his decision to veto the ordinance, saying that “Ordinance 176 is a resurrection of the previous attempts by the mayors in the previous administration.”
David also said the new scheme pushed by the PML was “illegal” and that abolishing the administrative fee of P150 is inconsistent with the law; transfer of regulatory power over quarry operations is prejudicial to public interest; and that according to them Ordinance 176 has no legal basis to abolish the administrative fee and consider it as “extraction fee.”
Panlilio said he disapproved the ordinance for the “public was ill-served by legislation that is ill-conceived.”
In an earlier statement, Panlilio said if the Provincial Board will override his veto he will bring the battle to the higher court.
Among the Kapampangan Civil Society Groups who supported the governor’s decision were Abak na Balen, Pampanga Anti-Gambling, KMI, and Pampanga Large Scale Quarry Association.
Last Friday, the Provincial Board by a vote of 10-0, approved Ordinance 176 allowing municipalities and barangays to get higher shares from the lucrative sand quarry business. (Sun.Star Pampanga/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Iloilo. (October 4, 2007 issue)
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