Davao del Sur LGUs get P10M nat’l wealth tax from Hedcor

The local government units of Davao del Sur and the municipality of Sta. Cruz received on Monday (Feb. 27) P10.2 million as share from the national wealth tax payment of Hedcor Sibulan, Inc. (HSI)
Governor Douglas Cagas accepted a mock check representing P3.1 million from HSI president and chief operating officer Rene B. Ronquillo during the turn-over ceremony at the Davao del Sur Coliseum in Barangay Matti, Digos City.
Sta. Cruz Mayor Joel Ray Lopez, on the other hand, received P7.1 million in a mock check from Ronquillo, also in time for the turn-over rites.
Hedcor, Inc. vice president for operations in Mindanao Rolando Pacquiao explained that the national wealth tax as mandated by law is paid to the concerned LGUs based on the power generated annually by HSI’s 42.5 megawatts run-of-river hydropower facility.
Pacquiao said that Monday’s distribution of the national wealth tax was based on the 311,980,201 kilowatt hours generated in 2010 and 2011.
He said the provincial government’s share of P3.1 million represented 20 percent of the total power generation, while the P7.1 million received by Sta. Cruz was gained from the 45% share.
Barangays Sibulan and Darong of Sta. Cruz, the host communities of HSI’s hydro power plants, will get a 35% share which amounts to P5.5 million covering the same period.
Pacquiao disclosed that the share for these barangays will be turned over to them this month.
Aside from the national wealth tax, he said the HSI has paid since the start of its operations in 2010 real property taxes amounting to P39 million, business taxes of P4.1 million and registration fee (to the Registry of Deeds) valued at P27.5 million.
He added that the power firm has also dispensed P36 million for the land rentals payment as of December 2011.
On top of these mandated fees, HSI has given total generation shares reaching P10.1 million as of December 2011 to the host communities, Pacquiao stated.
HSI was cited as top taxpayer in years 2008 and 2009 by the Bureau of Internal Revenue of Davao del Sur.
HSI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AboitizPower Corporation, which distributes power to the Davao City-based Davao Light and Power Company.
Hedcor Tudaya, Inc., another AboitizPower subsidiary, is set to put up a P2.5 billion-worth 14.7 MW run-of-river hydro power systems at Sitio Tudaya, also in Barangay Sibulan, Sta. Cruz, as expansion projects to the existing one.  [PIA 11/Carina L. Cayon]