The town hall of Isabel, Leyte. (PNA photo by Sarwell Meniano)
ISABEL, Leyte – The local government here is stepping up its campaign to earn more local taxes from tourism and more efficient collection with the decrease of gross income taxes from the town’s two large industries.
Mayor Edgardo Cordeño said in an interview Monday they should not just depend on taxes generated from Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corporation (Pasar) and Philippine Phosphate Fertilizer Corporation (Philphos) housed inside the town’s Leyte Industrial Development Estate (LIDE).
The town is being promoted by the local government as ideal for educational tours inside LIDE and dipping in the cold water of the town’s mountain resorts.
Activities in Isabel include Dupong river paddling, Badjao eco-village tour and experiencing the refreshing scenery of Il Fattoria, a place to commune with nature.
“We expect more income from these tourism destinations, which we have been promoting along with other destinations in nearby towns of northwest Leyte,” Cordeño told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
In terms of local taxes, they have laid down plans to efficiently collect real property and business taxes without imposing tax adjustments.
“We don’t just have to rely on Pasar and Philphos since there are situations that are out of our control just like what happened in the past,” he added.
While Pasar is currently in regular production, Philphos is still struggling to return to its normal operation after its facility was badly damaged by Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013.
Pasar, the country’s only copper smelting and refining firm and one of the biggest in Asia has paid PHP60 million in taxes to the local government. The firm produces 320,000 metric tons of copper cathodes every year.
Philphos is the country’s leading producer of phosphatic fertilizer with a rated capacity of 1.17 million metric tons every year.
Before Yolanda struck, both firms paid PHP300 million in taxes every year, according to the mayor.
In 2022, the town received PHP190.61 million share from the national tax allotment. From local businesses and real properties, the town collected PHP20.41 million in 2022.
“Currently, we are 75 percent dependent from the national taxes. Our aim is to become 50 percent dependent in the coming years,” the mayor added.
Isabel, a fourth-class town in Leyte province with a population of about 47,000, is located 136 kilometers southwest from Tacloban, the regional capital. (PNA)
