SBMA to impose environmental fees to locators

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) will impose environmental fees as part of its thrust to protect the ecological balance of this premier Freeport.

SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza said that the imposition of environmental fees is part of the SBMA’s move to ensure that the areas inside this premier Freeport zone are well taken care of.

He added that the price of the environment fees would be added to the admission tickets and rentals of facilities that are found inside the Subic Bay Freeport such as hotel rooms.

The official website of the SBMA, sbma.com, has recently displayed the procedures for the collection of these environment fees such as P10 for each tourists going inside theme parks, beaches, go carts and other establishments wherein fixed entrance fees are charged.

A two percent of the gross purchases for restaurants, wellness or massage centers, duty frees, and other retail establishments will be charged as part of the environment fees.

An environment fee of P100 per person playing at the golf course here will also be charged, along with a P100 environment fee for each room utilized per night for hotels.

Arreza said that the collection and remittance of these environment fees will be done by the locators themselves, adding that the concerned establishments shall remit these fees to the SBMA monthly on or before the fifth of the following month.

“Along with the remittance of the Environment Fee, establishments shall submit to the Finance Group of the SBMA a report of the number of visitors, total gross receipts for each day, number of guests and duration of stay in hotels,” Arreza said.

He said that audits shall be conducted to ensure the accuracy of the report submitted to the SBMA, adding that the establishment concerned shall make available for inspection to an authorized representative of the SBMA their books, journals and records pertaining to the required report. By JONAS REYES -