Tax holiday offered to lahar’s dredgers

IBA, Zambales – The provincial government of Zambales has announced that it will grant a six-month tax holiday to investors who will agree to remove lahar deposits from the Nacolcol River in San Narciso, this province.

The announcement came after newly elected Gov.Amor Deloso took his oath of office during the mass oath-taking ceremony for elected local officials held at the Zambales National High School Gymnasium.

Deloso said the tax holiday policy aims to invite contractors, developers and private individuals to haul lahar deposits from the Nacolcol River.He said this will save the province from disaster if heavy rains start to flood the area.

“We would rather lose some P4 million in taxes from this lahar5, but we have to find immediate solutions to clear the river and its arteries before the rainy season, or else five barangays in San Narciso will be erased from the map,” Deloso warned.

Based on an existing provincial ordinance, a P10 tax shall be collected for every metric ton of lahar hauled from the river here.

Deloso identified the critical barangays as NAmatacan, Grullio, Alusiis, San Pascual, Dalipawen and La paz. Other towns affected by lahar deposits are Castillejos, San Marcelino, San Felipe and Botolan.

“More than anything else, survival is essential to my constituents and their properties, and their safety comes first.We are calling all interested parties to take advantage of these privileges,”he said.

Mt.Pinatubo volcano spewed some 12 billion metric tons of volcanic ashduring the 1991 eruptions.Eight billion tons of this ash were deposited in the Bucao River in Botolan town ,and another two billion tons in the Sto. Tomas River in San Marcelino town. A 22-meter thick, four-kilometer long lahar was deposited in the Nacolcol River.

Meanwhile,Deloso revealed that an investor from Singapore has already expressed interest in hauling lahar from the Nacolcol River.

“This investor will get lahar from Zambales and bring it to Singapore where they are now having reclamation projects.They may start the hauling in July,”he said.

Other investors who have expressed interest in hauling the lahar in Zambales are from Taiwan,Japan and China, he said.

By:Franco G.Regala
Randy V. Datu