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Pampanga quarry income hits record-high P88.29M in Jan

By Marna Dagumboy Del Rosario

February 7, 2023, 8:17 pm

<p><strong>QUARRY INDUSTRY</strong>. The provincial government of Pampanga collected PHP88.29 million from quarry operations in January 2023. It is the highest collection in the history of the province's quarry industry. <em>(File photo courtesy of Pampanga provincial government)</em></p>

QUARRY INDUSTRY. The provincial government of Pampanga collected PHP88.29 million from quarry operations in January 2023. It is the highest collection in the history of the province's quarry industry. (File photo courtesy of Pampanga provincial government)

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – The provincial government of Pampanga collected some PHP88.29 million from its quarry industry in January this year, the highest it has recorded.

The total revenues from sand and gravel are now at PHP2.056 billion since July 2019.

Governor Dennis Pineda attributed the record-high revenues to the efficient collection of the Provincial Treasurer’s Office and the quarry regulatory unit Kapampangan a Lulugud at Matapat (Kalam) of tax and fees related to the hauling of Mt. Pinatubo’s sand and gravel.

“Ang mga numbers pong ito ay magpapatunay na pinaghuhusay ng inyong provincial government, lalo na po ng treasurer’s office at ng quarry regulatory unit Kalam, ang pangongkolekta ng buwis mula sa sand at gravel galing sa Mt. Pinatubo (These numbers prove that the provincial government, especially the treasurer’s office and the quarry regulatory unit Kalam, are collecting tax from the sand and gravel coming from Mt. Pinatubo efficiently),” Pineda said in a statement on Tuesday.

The collections consist of PHP150 sand tax and PHP250 administrative fee per truck, in addition to other charges, fines and penalties.

The sand tax is shared at 40-30-30-percent among villages, towns or cities and the province based on the Local Government Code of 1991.

The governor said the quarry sector is contributing a big part to the provincial capitol’s income.

“Ang dagdag na pondo po mula sa quarry ay ginagamit po ng capitol para sa karagdagang serbisyo sa ating mga kabalen (The additional funds from the quarry is being used by the provincial capitol for the additional services to our kabalen),” he added.

Pineda said the province’s quarry industry has shown to be resilient.

The high collections in January were attained despite the drop to PHP23.653 million in August 2022 as a result of the governor’s suspension of the quarry and hauling operations for 15 days to enforce measures against overloading along the North Luzon Expressway, national and local roads.

However, the collections normalized after a month, rising almost thrice to PHP62.672 million.

“Nagpapasalamat po ako sa cooperation ng mga association ng quarry operators at truck owners. Sumunod po sila sa anti-overloading law at Covid-19 safety protocols. Nagbigay pa po ang mga association ng ambulances, oxygen tanks at iba pa (I am thankful to the associations of the quarry operators and truck owners. They complied with the anti-overloading law and Covid-19 safety protocols. The associations even gave ambulances, oxygen tanks and others),” Pineda said. (PNA)

 

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