Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) yesterday said it had remitted to the Department of Energy P1.69 billion in royalty payments for the first half of 2017, which was triple the amount paid in the same period last year.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, SMPC said it had paid P575 million in royalty in the first six months of 2016.
The integrated energy company said the surge in government remittances was driven by increased production of coal at its mine in Semirara Island off Panay, as well as the expansion of SMPC’s operations.
SMPC is pushing to increase its yearly coal production to 16 million metric tons in the next two to three years. In 2016, the company produced 12 million metric tons of indigenous coal.
Of the P1.69 billion in royalties already paid this year, about P676 million will go to the local government units that host SMPC operations.
By law, Antique province will receive P135 million while the town of Caluya and Barangay Semirara will get P304 million and P237 million, respectively.
The rest of the amount, or over P1 billion, will go to the National Treasury.
Under the Local Government Code of 1991, local government units are entitled to a 40 percent share in royalty proceeds from petroleum, coal, geothermal, hydrothermal and wind resources.
“Our continued partnership with the DOE allows us to create and deliver shared value to the government and our host communities,” SMPC president and chief operating officer Victor A. Consunji said in a statement.
“With the increased royalty payments, they can undertake more programs and projects for our countrymen,” Consunji said.
In 2015, SMPC remittances accounted for 83 percent of the P2.2 billion government royalty collections from energy resource and production.