Semirara royalty payments hit P2.65B in 2016

LISTED energy firm Semirara Mining and Power Corp (SMPC) paid a total of P2.65 billion in royalties to the Department of Energy (DOE) for 2016, which was 47 percent higher than the P1.8 billion it paid in 2015.

Over P1 billion of the royalty payment will go to the local government units (LGUs) where SMPC operates. The Municipality of Caluya will get 45 percent, Barangay Semirara will get 35 percent, and Antique Province will get 20 percent.

“SMPC is committed to creating shared value for our stakeholders. Because of our partnership with the national government, we are able to generate growth that redounds to our host province, municipality and community,” SMPC President and Chief Operating Officer Victor A. Consunji said in a statement over the weekend.

Under the law, about 40 percent of the royalty proceeds from power resources—including petroleum, coal, geothermal, hydrothermal and wind—are to be given to LGUs where they were generated.

SMPC was bought by Consunji-led conglomerate DMCI Holdings Inc. in 1997. Since then, the company has paid an aggregate of P13.5 billion royalties to the national government.

Source: Manila Times