Gov. Mon Warns Quarry Operators: Pay Taxes or Ship Out

 LINGAYEN, Pangasinan— Gov. Ramon “Mon-mon” Guico III has warned quarry operators in the gargantuan province that they cannot operate if they do not want to pay the new taxes and fees being imposed on quarrying activities.

“My statement to them — and there are only a few of them — is this: If you do not agree with the new fees and you keep on complaining, don’t quarry here in Pangasinan. Go to other provinces. And don’t destroy our roads, bridges, and mountains here in Pangasinan,” a firm Governor Guico said.

Pangasinan  Gov. Ramon "Monmon" Guico, III

Last year, the provincial lawmaking body unanimously approved a tax ordinance that amended the province’s 11-year-old Revenue Code and increased the mineral extraction fees from P16 per cubic meter (cu.m.) to P50 per cu. m.

The ordinance, which was implemented last month, also imposed administrative fees ranging from P50 per cu. m. to P250 per cu. m., depending on the volume of minerals loaded on the truck.

Moreover, road maintenance fees ranging from P100 per cu. m. to P300 per cu. m. per truckload were collected, also depending on volume of minerals being hauled.

Under the ordinance as sanctioned by the Local Government Code, 40 percent of the taxes collected will go to the barangay where the resources were extracted, 30 percent will go to the town or city, and 30 percent to the province.

“So, they should not say that all of the money go to the province because that’s not true. The barangay and the town also benefit from the extraction fees,” disclosed by the governor.

Guico explained that the administrative fees being collected are for the purchase of equipment and gadgets for the remote monitoring of the quarry sites.

“We should know how many trucks go there, how much they pay, and how many are going out of the area, etc.,” he said.

He cited that the road maintenance fee will be used to repair the provincial roads and bridges traversed by hauling trucks.

“First of all, it’s only them who are destroying our roads and bridges. It happened in Bayambang. Overloading. How much will it cost the government to fix that? At least P300 million,” explained by Governor Guico.

He was referring to the Wawa Bridge which collapsed in October last year as two trucks overloaded with sand and gravel crossed the structure.

Last year, officials of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources informed Guico that Pangasinan had been charging the lowest extraction fee in the Ilocos Region since 2010.

“Do you know much the province collected from quarrying fees in 2022? Only P12 million. From all the quarry sites from 1st to 6th Districts of the province”.

The cost of the repair of those bridges and roads have been at a staggering priced of more than P1 billion.

“Where will we get the money,” he posed.

Under the provincial tax ordinance, operators of illegal quarry sites and mines may be charged with theft of minerals, which is punishable under the provisions of Republic Act 7942 or the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.

Quarry operators are also required by the ordinance to rehabilitate the excavated area to “a condition suitable for agricultural or other economic activities.”

They are required to pay a cash bond of P100,000 before a permit is issued to ensure that they will comply with this obligation. Otherwise, the bond will be forfeited and they will no longer be issued a quarry permit in the future.