Padilla wants to collect excise tax from mining operations

By ALFREDO PHERNANDEZ

JOSE Panganiban Mayor Ricarte Padilla wants to collect excise tax for mining operations in his municipality.

“Excise tax for mining shall be collected by the host municipality and the share of the national government will be duly remitted only after the share of the municipality is deducted,” said Padilla.

“This will ensure that the local municipality will have immediate available funds, which shall be used to address the degradation of the infrastructure and the environment caused by mining operations.”

A mining excise tax is one that is measured by the amount of business done (not on property or income from real estate) by the gold operators.

The municipality of Jose Panganiban is host to many small and medium scale gold mining operations which, according to the residents, are the ones causing silt and tailings pollution at the Mambulao Bay.

Aside from searching for gold in various mining districts covered by mining claims, gold recovery operations are actually being done right in the shallow waters of Mambulao Bay.

Industry sources told MWBuzz that the gold-laden silt deposits at the bottom of Mambulao Bay have accumulated since the first gold mining operations conducted from the early 40s.

During those days, miners did not use tailings pond to contain their wastes, and instead they dumped them into the bay.

MWBuzz has observed recently that at least five to 15 gold operators are working the shallow waters of the bay on a given day, just close to shoreline of Jose Panganiban.

An unnamed officer at the office of Padilla said these gold operators could be a new source of revenue for the municipality.

“We hope our appeal to the Office of the President that our LGU be allowed to collect mining excise tax would be granted.”

“These gold operators are making big money but the host municipality is not benefiting from this,” the officer said.

“At the same time, they are also destroying our environment.”