Nakikipag-ugnayan ngayon si House Ways and Means Chair at Albay Reprentative Joey Salceda sa national government at maging sa gobyerno ng Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) hinggil sa Tax Code ng rehiyon.
Ito ay para matiyak na ang tax regime para sa oil and gas exploration and extraction ay malinis at patas.
Ito ay tugon matapos nilagdaan na ang Intergovernmental Energy Board (IEB) na siyang mag-manage sa pagkuha ng mga reserbang petrolyo sa Bangsamoro.
Ang Intergovernmenta Energy Board (IEB) ay nilikha nuong nakaraang linggo sa presensya ni Pangulong Marcos.
Kasama sa mga tungkulin ng Lupon ang pagtatakda ng mga patakaran para sa pagkuha ng langis at gas sa rehiyon ng Bangsamoro, na sumasaklaw sa mga lugar na mayaman sa gas gaya ng Liguasan Marsh.
“Liguasan Marsh is suspected to have the largest deposits of natural gas in Southeast Asia. Now, we can’t know for sure, because prospecting has been limited by lack of investments and the peace and order situation, until now. The BARMM government and close collaboration with the National Government gives us the opportunity to do that,” pahayag ni Salceda.
Ang Liguasan Marsh, ay isang 220,000-hectare wetland na napatunayang mayruong reserves ng natural gas.
“It could be the key to energy independence for the Philippines, especially with the shift towards LNG as a transition away from coal. It could also make BARMM one of the richest areas in the country, if we can manage governance well,” pahayag ni Salceda.
Ayon sa mambabatas ang maagang paglilinaw sa tax regime ay isang pagkakataon upang itama ang mga pagkakamali sa umiiral na tax regime sa paggalugad ng langis at gas, sa ilalim ng Presidential Decree No. 87.
“The regime I envision is 60 percent of net revenues go to government, equally shared between BARMM and the NG, in lieu of any and all taxes. Of course, that decision is to be made by the Bangsamoro Parliament, but my Committee will offer its expertise and perspective,” wika ni Salceda.
Dagdag pa ng ekonomistang solon,” We want no hiccups once exploration begins, so anything that might be litigious or contentious is best ironed out. I am happy to say that my initial discussions with BARMM stakeholders were received with openness and enthusiasm.”
