FOR 10 years now, Apex Mining Company, Inc. (APX) has been receiving from the Municipality of Maco in Davao de Oro the latter’s highest Taxpayer Award, proving that being a responsible mining firm, indeed, pays. Maco is where APX’s tenement is located.
APX was again cited by the municipal government of Maco for being the top business and real property taxpayer for 2021.
Given during the municipality's celebration of its 17th Kaimonan Festival on June 23, 2021 at the ARMM Gym in Maco, the LGU of Maco stated that the awards given to APX for being the No. 1 Business Taxpayer and the No. 2 Real Property Taxpayer is in "recognition and deep appreciation for its invaluable and very significant contribution for the progress and development" of the municipality.
The plaques of recognition for the APX’s awards were signed by none other than Maco’s Mayor Dr. Alvera Veronica R. Rimando and acting treasurer, Girlie M. Gudmalin.
In her message during the awarding, Mayor Rimando expressed her deep gratitude and commendation to the mining firm.
“I would also like to acknowledge the Board of Directors, as well as the Management & Staff for your unwavering support and dedication in helping the public especially during these dire times of the pandemic by doing your part and more in supporting various local government programs,” Mayor Rimando said.
She emphasized that the taxes that the mining firm have paid have funded several projects, programs, and activities, including its Covid-19 response.
“Your legacy as a corporation, truly, is to lend a helping hand not just to the members of your company but to our society as a whole in terms of financial relief and providing better opportunities to improve their quality of life. I have always admired the integrity and commendable principle of your institution which is why I will forever hold your company in the highest regard for your interminable commitment in practicing good governance in your organization,” the mayor added in her speech.
Rimando also hopes that APX continues to advocate for the people by using its resources as a means to help as the mining firm also continues to develop and grow.
“And you can rest assured that the Local Government of Maco is ready and willing to act as a partner in any step you that you decide to take, provided that it is for the general welfare and common good of the public,” the mayor added.
For his part, APX President Luis Sarmiento, in his message delivered by Richard Licang, resident manager of APX, thanked the Maco LGU for recognizing the commitment of the mining firm to be a responsible corporate citizen through the Top Taxpayer awards.
“APX has an unbroken tradition of paying the correct taxes since we started our commercial operations in 2009. The marching orders of our then president and now chairman emeritus, Dr Walter Brown was, ‘Do not negotiate; let us pay the correct amount’,” Sarmiento said in his message.
He emphasized that while almost all businesses seek to pay lower taxes, APX sees the taxes it pays to the government as its contribution to the economy, both in the national and local levels.
“And if we try to pay lower than what we should be paying, then, we are, in effect, short-changing our host communities and nearby barangays,” Sarmiento said, adding that paying the correct taxes is the right thing to do and the sustainable way to do business.
He also reiterated APX’s support to Maco, saying “APX is with you through thick and thin.”
Sarmiento recalled that during the emergence of the pandemic in the first quarter of 2020 when many industries closed, lockdowns in communities were imposed, and workers were left either jobless or underemployed.
He said that APX was also greatly affected with mining initially excluded in the essential industries. And since they were not allowed to operate, APX instead intensified its collaboration with its partner LGUs, the community leaders, and stakeholders to ensure that no employee becomes jobless.
“We are grateful to our LGU partners for allowing us to operate at 50% manpower capacity, and gradually, at full capacity. Yes, from the ‘old normal’, all throughout this pandemic and as we move into the emerging ‘new normal’, you can count on the APX brand of malasakit. Today, we know that job generation is key if our economy is to swiftly recover and for many of our kababayans to get back on their feet. On that score, APX is at the forefront of generating jobs for the interior communities of both the IPs and non-IPs families,” Sarmiento added in his message.
APX’s Atty. Rodi A. Palma, vice president for Legal and Mine Compliance, Engr. Ferdinand B. Dobli, admin division manager, and Maria Fe B. Palconit, community relations manager, received the awards from Mayor Rimando, Vice Mayor Arthur Carlos Voltaire R. Rimando, Sangguniang Bayan Member Joel Penido, Gudmalin, and from the municipality's Assessor's office.
APX has been recognized for the same awards for nine consecutive years (2010 to 2019) by the Maco municipal government. There was an interruption when the country first encountered the dreaded Covid-19 in 2020, with all government activities and events limited by the country's Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the national governing body tasked to "respond to affairs concerning emerging infectious diseases" such as Covid-19.
APX has contributed almost P3 billion to the national economy in the form of tax since its inception. This is aside from the IP royalties APX has paid, which has already reached more than P365 million.
APX has contributed almost P3 billion to the national economy in the form of tax since its inception. This is aside from the IP Royalties and Surface Rights APX has paid, which has already reached more than P371 million.