Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 8) — Sen. Sonny Angara said the government will get at least ₱12 billion to ₱14 billion annually in additional revenue if a new tax system for the mining industry is implemented.
Angara gave the estimate in response to Senate Minority Leader Aquilino \”Koko\” Pimentel’s inquiry into the government’s policy for the mining sector as the chamber started its plenary debates on Wednesday for the proposed 2024 budget.
\”The state should get its fair share on the exploitation of our natural resources,\” Pimentel said. \”Pipigain ba natin ang [Are we going to squeeze the] mining sector to generate more revenues for the government or are we going to be more lenient?\”
\”There are estimates of what income they can generate from a new mining fiscal regime, around ₱12 billion to ₱14 billion a year,\” Angara said. \”It (tax) is based on the amount of minerals, it’s indexed to the weight. I suppose they’ll be increasing the rates as they go along.\”
For Sen. Risa Hontiveros, the policy must be agreed upon by environmental groups and mining companies.
She added that there is a pending case in the Supreme Court about the issue.
The House in September approved on third and final reading a bill imposing a 4% royalty rate on the gross output of minerals or mineral products extracted or produced by large-scale mining operations.
Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno earlier said the Marcos administration wants to simplify the mining tax regime to make the Philippines competitive with other countries.
The rationalization of the mining fiscal regime is one of the priority measures President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. mentioned during his second State of the Nation Address, but no counterpart bill has been filed in the Senate.
