SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority recently released P141.4 million in revenue shares to eight local government units adjacent to the Subic Bay Freeport.
SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia handed over the respective cheques to mayors and other LGU representatives and announced that the latest of the semi-annual releases is 18.5 percent higher than the P115.23 million distributed for the second semester of 2015.
“We are proud to turn over to you the result of the hard work of our SBMA workers who made everything possible for the agency. They serve fastidiously as we continuously improved our performance for four straight years,” Garcia told the mayors.
Among the town executives who arrived for the turnover held at SBMA Boardroom were Mayor Rolen Paulino of Olongapo City; Bataan mayors Cynthia Estanislao (Morong) and Joseph Inton (Hermosa); and Zambales mayors Jefferson Khonghun (Subic) and Dr. Estela Antipolo (San Antonio).
Mayors Jose Dominguez (Castillejos) and Elvis Soria (San Marcelino) of Zambales, and Mayor Gila Garcia of Dinalupihan, Bataan were represented by their municipal treasurers.
The shares received by the LGUs were derived from the five-percent gross revenue taxes (GRT) paid to the SBMA by business locators and investors operating inside the Subic Bay Freeport.
From the five-percent GRT, three percent goes to the national treasury, while two percent is distributed by the SBMA among the eight LGUs.
The LGU shares are computed based on the following criteria: population, 50 percent; land area, 25 percent; and equal sharing, 25 percent.
The revenue shares are to be used for community development projects, including those for health, education, peace and order, and livelihood programs to enable communities near the Subic Bay Freeport to keep pace with developments in the special economic zone.
The LGU recipients thanked Garcia for the continuous support given by the Subic agency to their neighbor LGUs through the revenue shares, as well as for its effort to generate employment opportunities for residents, and for assistance in various community projects.