SMPC remits record-high P1.7B royalty payment to gov't

Consunji-led integrated energy company Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) said Tuesday it has turned over about P1.7 billion in royalty payment to the government through the Department of Energy (DOE) in the second quarter of the year.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday, SMPC said the royalty payment in the second quarter is the highest in the company's history.

SMPC said it was able to generate the record-setting quarterly payment after realizing P14.8 billion in revenues on the back of all-time high coal sales and higher average selling prices.

“The pandemic has taken a significant toll on our country. We hope that our contribution can help boost our government’s response against COVID-19,” said SMPC president and COO Maria Cristina Gotianun.

Of the P1.7 billion, more than P1 billion will be retained by the national government.

In accordance with the law, the rest will go to the host local government units of the SMPC mine site, the company said.

The province of Antique will receive P136 million while the municipality of Caluya and Barangay Semirara will receive around P300 million and P230 million, respectively, it added.

The Local Government Code of 1991 entitles local government units to a 40% share of royalty proceeds from petroleum, coal, geothermal, hydrothermal and wind resources.

SMPC said it is the only vertically-integrated power producer in the country that mines its own fuel.

The company also supplies fuel to power plants, cement factories, and other industrial facilities across the Philippines. —KBK, GMA News