Account for P8.2-M 'missing' quarrying fees, 3 P'panga towns told

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga - The Commission on Audit (COA) has asked three towns in this province to account for some P8.2 million in "missing" lahar sand quarrying taxes, which were collected in 1997 and the first semester of 1998.

In a 30-page report, the COA's special audit office headed by Emma Racelis noted "irregularities" in the collection of lahar sand quarrying fees in the province when former Porac Mayor Roy David headed the provincial quarrying task force.

It noted that while the provincial government was supposed to collect a P40 tax from each truckload of lahar sand, it allowed the municipal governments of Porac, Lubao and Mabalacat to collect their 70 percent share.

Of this 70 percent, 30 percent was supposed to go to the municipal governments and 40 percent to the barangays where the quarrying sites were located.

The COA team asked the provincial government to "enforce" the payment of uncollected fees amounting to P8,295,482.51 "from quarry operators and permitees."

The amount was based on records that 586,900 trucks had hauled lahar sand during the period covered by the special audit.

The audit report revealed that the towns of Porac, Lubao and Mabalacat had failed to account for their collections. The amount included P7,549,762.51 collected in 1997, broken down as follows: P2,240,000 in Porac, P937,889.71 in Lubao, and P4,371,872.80 in Mabalacat.

In the first semester of 1998, the three towns also failed to account for a total of P745,720 in lahar sand quarrying taxes: P112,000 in Porac, P59,720 in Lubao, and P574,000 in Mabalacat.

The report noted that the provincial government was able to fully account for its 30 percent share of collections, although it noted that under the provincial government's Tax Ordinance No. 3, it should have collected the whole P40 tax per truckload of lahar sand.

Under the ordinance, the province would later remit the shares of the municipalities and barangays.

The COA report, however, exonerated provincial treasurer Jovito Sabado, saying he acted "in good faith in allowing four municipalities (Lubao, Porac, Mabalacat and Bacolor) to directly collect their shares...In fact, his office had religiously and diligently collected the quarry tax due to the province."

The audit team endorsed Sabado's proposal to conduct another special audit in these towns "to categorically determine if the taxes in question were actually collected."

Last Nov. 22, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the one-year suspension of Gov. Lito Lapid, Vice Gov. Clayton Olalia, Sabado and SPO4 Nestor Tadeo on charges they padded lahar sand quarrying fees.

While the COA report did not dwell on these allegations, it is expected to drag municipal and barangay officials into the controversy.

The Court of Appeals is expected to rule this week on Lapid's petition against the Ombudsman's suspension order.