SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) released on Friday revenue shares totaling P180.67 million to local government units (LGUs) affected by the operation of the Subic Bay Special Economic and Freeport Zone.

The shares comprise two percent of the five-percent special tax collected from business locators in the Subic Freeport.

The LGU windfall, which was unaccountably released early this year, are usually released to the seven towns and one city near Subic twice a year: the first tranche on the first week of February, and the second on the first week of August.

The recent release gave the biggest share to Olongapo City, which received 42.02 million; followed by Subic, Zambales with P27.62 million; Dinalupihan, Bataan with P22.47 million; and San Marcelino, Zambales with P21.65 million.

Meanwhile, Hermosa, Bataan got P18.81 million; Castillejos, Zambales, P16.91 million; Morong, Bataan, P15.7 million; and San Antonio, Zambales, P15.48 million.

Officials from the eight neighboring LGUs received their respective check payments from SBMA Chairman Rolen Paulino Sr. at the En Izakaya restaurant here last Friday, July 15. 

SBMA Deputy Administrator for Finance Antonietta Sanqui, who was among those who witnessed the release, explained that the LGU shares are determined according to the population of the beneficiary LGU, which merits 50 percent of the share; land area, which gets 25 percent; and equal sharing for the other 25 percent.

Among the LGUs, Olongapo is the most populous with 260,317 residents, thus getting P31.75 million, or the bulk of shares under the 50% formula for population. On the other hand, San Marcelino, which has the biggest land area at 41,686 hectares, received P11.66 million, the biggest for the 25% land area share.

The latest release of LGU shares from the SBMA brought total releases since February 2011 to P3.01 billion, according to SBMA records.

Sanqui said the SBMA first released shares directly to the beneficiary LGUs for the May to December 2010 tax collections from Subic-registered enterprises. Prior to this, LGU shares were deposited with and released by the National Treasury.

Since then, Olongapo had received from the SBMA total shares of P714.75 million; Subic, P454.97 million; Dinalupihan, P376.36 million; San Marcelino, P362.68 million; Hermosa, P311.93 million; Castillejos, P272.59 million; Morong, P261.98 million; and San Antonio, P261.08 million.

The LGU shares are being given as development assistance to help neighboring LGUs keep pace with economic growth in the Subic Bay Freeport area. — Henry Empeño