Mindanaotoday.com | MisOr provincial board passes new quarrying law
By: Jigger Jerusalem
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – To raise the revenue and to ensure that the extraction of sand and gravel and other minerals in Misamis Oriental is properly taxed, the provincial government has approved the increase in some of the quarrying fees by amending its existing revenue code.
The provincial board of Misamis Oriental has recently passed Ordinance 1571-2022, which regulates the extraction, disposition, utilization and processing of quarry and other mineral resources within the territorial jurisdiction of the province and amending various taxes and fees contained in the Provincial Revenue Code or Ordinance 1404 series of 2017.
Authored by Board Member Dexter Yasay, the new ordinance states: “The Sangguniang Panlalawigan finds that it is high time to amend in the Provincial Revenue Code of 2017 of the Province of Misamis Oriental concerning the tax on Sand, Gravel and other Quarry Resources to improve the locally sourced income and fortify efficient revenue collection.”
The ordinance was signed by members of the provincial board, namely, Yasay, Wayne Militante, Gerardo Sabal III, Jabi Bernaldez, Syremae Emano, Princess Emano, Rey Buhisan, Bliss Francis Acain, Fredrick Khu, Michele Anayron, Leonard Winstanley, Kerwin Jess Soldevilla, and Allan Mandokita.
In an interview, Militante, who acted as the temporary presiding officer during the approval of the newly crafted ordinance, said there are some revisions in the schedule of fees, among them the extraction and ecosystem fees, and the added administrative fee.
“In the collection of the extraction of sand and gravel, our extraction fee is P40 while our ecosystem fee is P5. Gov. Peter Unabia has proposed an increase of P50 for the extraction fee and P50 for the ecosystem fee, while the administrative fee is P50, or a total of P150 per cubic meter,” Militante said.
Under the old rates, the provincial government has only been able to earn a net amount of P4 million a year.
This meager amount was due to the smaller fees that the province is collecting, which the barangay and municipalities have also been receiving their share of 40 percent and 30 percent, respectively, from the total earnings.
But, Militante said, with the new ordinance, the provincial government expects to collect by as much as P60 million to P100 million a year.
He added the P150 fee is a reasonable increase considering that the neighboring province of Bukidnon also has the same rate.
“In Bukidnon they collect P150 per cubic meter. We in Misamis Oriental will now be collecting the same, because it’s ironic that people in Bukidnon are buying sand and gravel in Misamis Oriental because it’s cheaper here,” Militante said.
The revised quarrying fees, he said, would also mean that the provincial environment office can now afford to hire more staff – around 200 workers – to monitor any illegal mineral extraction activities in Misamis Oriental and to check if the new ordinance is being followed. (MT)
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