SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Eight local government units located near the Subic Bay Freeport received a total of ₱178 million in revenue shares from the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño said the shares are intended to augment local resources and enable stakeholder communities to benefit from the operations of Freeport businesses in areas like health, education, peace and order, and livelihood generation. 

“These revenue shares that the agency received from the locators’ gross income, are intended to create a parallel development between the Freeport and the nearby LGUs. SBMA is highly committed to support our neighboring localities by helping them improve the living conditions of their residents,” Aliño explained. 

The LGUs include Olongapo City, which received a share of ₱41.62 million; the Zambales towns of Subic with ₱26.7 million; Castillejos, ₱16.18 million; San Marcelino, ₱21.37 million; and San Antonio, ₱15.13 million.

Meanwhile, the Bataan towns of Morong received ₱15.73 million; Hermosa ₱19.06 million, and Dinalupihan ₱22.17 million.

Per the SBMA Accounting department, the shares accounted for two per cent of the five per cent tax on gross income paid by free port locators for the period July to December 2023. The other three per cent of the taxes paid are remitted directly to the national government. 

The LGU share is determined according to population (50 per cent), land area (25 per cent), and equal sharing (25 per cent). 

Aliño said the shares given by the SBMA to the neighboring communities would benefit almost 750,000 residents in the said areas. 

Over the period of 10 years, LGU shares significantly increased by 118.94% from ₱81.3 million in 2014. This is attributed to the growing number of business locators in the Subic Bay Freeport. 