Jaro, Leyte mayor seeks royalty tax from Tongonan geothermal operations

Mayor Rolando Celebre of Jaro town, Leyte, disclosed that he is pushing for their town be given a share on royalty tax from the geothermal energy produced at the Leyte Geothermal Production Field (LGPF). Celebre contends that geothermal reserve is also found in the mountains of Jaro that contributes to the geothermal energy generated by the LGPF which straddles between Kananga and Ormoc and operated by the Energy Development Corporation (EDC).

“We also would like to get a share in the royalty taxes they enjoy to benefit our constituents and they have been getting a big share from geothermal energy for a long time now, while our town has received none,” Mayor Celebre said.

Local government units LGUs have a share of 40 percent of the gross collection derived by the national government from royalties and other taxes, fees, or charges in any co-production, joint venture or production sharing agreement in the utilization and development of the national wealth within their territorial jurisdiction. Celebre also cited that under the Local Government Code, “LGUs shall have an equitable share in the proceeds derived from the utilization and development of the national wealth within their respective areas, including sharing the same with the inhabitants by way of direct benefits.” Mayor Celebre disclosed that he does not know for now if other LGUs geothermal reserve areas are keen on having the same resolve, but added that he has already shared this with former Leyte governor and now Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla of the Department of Energy.

Citing a study, the mayor said that aside from Jaro, geothermal energy produced is also supported by energy reserves from the towns of Burauen and Dagami. The EDC tapped the vast reservations underneath the island’s dead volcanic backyard, developing technology that effectively provides not only clean power but also pioneered environmental management and corporate social responsibility practices that benefit people living around the reservation. In 2011, Jaro was one of the LGUs consulted by the EDC for a Biodiversity Conservation Project that includes a watershed management plan for the sustainability of geothermal resources which depends, among others, on the ample supply of groundwater recharge to underground steam production areas.

LGUs included in this consultation were towns within the geothermal area such as Baybay City, and the municipalities of Albuera, Kananga, Carigara, Capoocan, Burauen, and other towns within the geothermal reservation. EDC Leyte Geothermal Production Field is considered as the geothermal titan with over 700 megawatts of geothermal power, beating at the heart of its 107,625-hectare geothermal reservation and is the country’ biggest geothermal project and the acclaimed world’s largest wet steam field. The 30-year-old renewable energy project is providing electricity not only to the residents of Leyte but to the entire Philippines through the national power grid.