SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority has released a total of P147 million in revenue shares to eight local governments adjacent to the Freeport.
SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the revenue shares will help finance development projects in health, education, peace and order, and livelihood programs so the contiguous communities can keep pace with developments in the Subic Bay Freeport and Special Economic Zone.
Based on SBMA records, Olongapo City received the highest share with P34.35 million, followed by the municipality of Subic in Zambales with P22.46 million and Dinalupihan, Bataan with P18.32 million.
Other Zambales towns that received the SBMA funds were Castillejos with P13.69 million, San Marcelino with P17.66 million, and San Antonio with P12.65 million.
Morong and Hermosa towns in Bataan received P12.79 million and P15.31 million, respectively.
The shares were personally received from Eisma by Mayors Rolen Paulino of Olongapo, Jay Khonghun of Subic, Jose Angelo Dominguez of Castillejos, Elvis Soria of San Marcelino, Estela Antipolo of San Antonio, and Joseph Inton of Hermosa.
Eisma said the P147.22 million distributed last week represented LGU shares for the second half of 2017. The amount was 6.96 percent lower than the P150.46 million distributed for the same period last year.
“SBMA is continuously working on every possible means to attract more investors to create more jobs and increase the LGU shares,” Eisma said during the turnover at the SBMA head office last Friday.
However, she urged the LGUs to help the SBMA develop estates in their respective areas and to start planning for the extension of the Freeport’s fenced-in areas, because the freeport is already running out of space to meet the requirements of newer and bigger investors.
“If we could no longer accept new investors, the LGU shares from SBMA would not improve further, and, worse, could even diminish,” she noted.
“We have to find ways to extend the Freeport area, so that we could grow and develop more businesses and create more livelihood opportunities for residents,” Eisma added.
Locators and investors operating within the Subic Bay Freeport remit to the SBMA 5 percent of their gross income. Three percent of that goes to the national treasury, while two percent is distributed by the SBMA among the eight neighboring LGUs.
The LGU share is computed based on population at 50 percent; land area, 25 percent; and equal sharing, 25 percent.