CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Close to P4.5 billion revenues from the extraction of Mt. Pinatubo sand and gravel – the highest by the Capitol – capped the two terms of Gov. Dennis “Delta” Pineda from July 2019 to May 2025.
Pineda steadily increased the gross collection to P4.379 billion as well as licenses and fees to P84,110,653.32 for a total of P4.463 billion, a report from the provincial treasurer’s office showed.
The governor oversaw the quarry regulatory unit Kalam (Kapampangan a Lulugud at Matapat) headed by former Bacolor mayor Romeo “Buddy” Dungca and enforced the Anti-Overloading Law (RA 8794).
In terms of income, Pampanga received P3.2 billion in net provincial share from sand and administrative fees in compliance with the Local Government Code of 1991. Capitol distributed the sand fee at 40% to the barangays and 30% to municipalities.
“We turned the disaster into a true blessing,” Pineda said, referring to the devastation wrought upon the province by the Mt. Pinatubo eruptions starting on June 12, 1991 and the yearly flow of volcanic debris that buried hundreds of villages and displaced Kapampangans until 1997. To date, heavy rains wash down silt from the slopes and banks, resulting to severe floods downstream.
Transparency
In Pineda’s first six months in office, Kalam generated P259.2 million, proving that taxes on the aggregates brought in more than P1 million daily.
Collections more than doubled to P556 million in 2020, P715.7 million in 2021, P672.2 million in 2022, P960.18 million in 2023, P872.2 million in 2024, and P343.5 million from January to May 2025 or for a total of P4.378 billion.
Gross quarry collections under Pineda were seven times higher than the P611 million collected by then Gov. Eddie Panlilio in three years from 2007.
Under Pineda, the Capitol collects a sand fee of P150, an administrative fee of P250, and weighing scale fee of P30 or a total of P430 per receipt paid per booklet by quarry operators and haulers at the provincial treasurer’s office.
Loads with12 cubic meters or less require one receipt while loads with more than 12 cubic meters and up to 18 cubic meters require two receipts, Dungca said.
More services
Pineda said the provincial government ploughed back the quarry income to the treasury, enabling it to fund life-saving measures during the Covid-19 pandemic and later to support education assistance and medical infrastructure.
Awaeds
For these efficient collection efforts, the Department of Finance and its Bureau of Local Government Finance ranked Pampanga the Top 10 in locally sourced revenues in 2020, Top 3 in 2022, and Top 2 in 2023 among 81 provinces.
“Isang transparent collection system po ang aking inilagay. Ang mga kabalen natin ang nakinabang mula sa mataas na quarry income dahil napondohan ang mga dagdag na serbisyo,” enthused Pineda.
Pampanga PIO
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