After closing down the illegal gold mine tunnels in T’boli town, the provincial government of South Cotabato is planning another crackdown of unregistered gold processors in the area, an official said.
The move was in line also with the bid to increase the revenue of the provincial government amid the looming cut on the internal revenue allocation (IRA) of the province, South Cotabato Gov. Arthur Pingoy Jr. said.
“Only 15 small-scale gold processors have permits and paying their dues to the provincial government,” said the governor, adding that there was an estimated 200 gold processors in the town.
Pingoy said if all the gold ball mill operators are legally operating, the province could have earned annually at least P1.2 million from them.
Taxes and fees imposed by the provincial government to such kind of business reaches P6,000, the governor said.
The revenue of the province from the ball mill operators, along with the small-scale mining activities, could have reached P3 million this year, Pingoy said.
But the actual collections from these two sectors were less than P200,000 because many of them were operating illegally, he said.
Pingoy said they are targeting to collect from P5 million to P10 million from the small-scale mining activities and ball mill operators next year.
He noted this would be a big help to the provincial government’s coffers with the expected P20 million IRA cut next year due to the conversion of municipalities into cities.
Last month, South Cotabato ordered the closure of 300 gold tunnels for operating illegally and for unsafe mining practices.