BATAAN Rep. Geraldine Roman has filed a bill seeking to strengthen the administration and operational governance of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and increase the shares of affected local government units (LGUs) and the national government from its income.
House Bill No. 530 seeks to amend the provisions of Republic Act No. 7227, or the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992, as amended.
One of the proposed revisions is to change the reallocation formulas on the sharing received by the provinces of Bataan and Pampanga from the two percent gross income tax collected from all business enterprises within the free-port zone.
Since no national or local taxes can be imposed on the Subic Special Economic Zone, a five percent tax on gross income is paid by business enterprises and remitted as follows: three percent to the national government and two percent to the SBMA for distribution to LGUs contiguous to the zone, namely, the city of Olongapo and the municipalities of Subic, San Antonio, San Marcelino and Castillejos in the province of Zambales; and the municipalities of Morong, Hermosa and Dinalupihan in the province of Bataan.
Roman’s bill wants to change the allocation on the basis of population, from the current 50 percent to 40 percent; on the basis of land area, from 25 percent to 40 percent; and equal sharing, from 25 percent to 20 percent.
Roman, who chairs the House committee on women and gender equality, said it is also high time to incorporate provisions “to professionalize the SBMA Board of Directors and also to ensure and strengthen the public safety and security of the free-port zone.”
The bill also seeks to designate additional seats to the Board of Directors of the SBMA from LGUs and Indigenous Peoples (IPs) residing in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.
