AGEPL widens protest vs Energy Law

ORMOC CITY ,Philippines  —The Association of Geothermal Energy Producing LGUs (AGEPL) is preparing a resolution requesting for the suspension of the implementation of Republic Act 9513 or Renewable Energy Act of 2008.

City Mayor Eric Codilla, AGEPL president, said the organization would do everything it can, within the legal framework of government, to have the national leadership understand the negative impact on the education sector of LGUs hosting renewable energy sources.

RA 9513, when implemented, technically scraps the Special Education Fund (SEF), as its section 15c (Special Realty Tax Rates on Equipment and Machinery) provides that power generator or developer using renewable energy should only be subjected to a maximum rate of 1.5 percent.

The Leyte-based Energy Development Corporation, a developer and generator of geothermal energy, may avail itself of this special tax rate and thus pay only for the one percent basic realty tax and eschew the usual payment of one percent that, following the Local Government Code, automatically goes to the SEF.

"Everybody knows about the shortage of teachers and classrooms, if the law will be implemented, you can just imagine the chaos during opening of classes," said Codilla, referring to the lost revenues amounting to hundreds of millions of pesos from EDC intended for the SEF. 

The city government has been collecting from business and industrial establishments two percent of real property tax, one percent of which is for basic tax and the other one percent goes to the SEF to be used by the city schools division.

"Our relationship with the EDC is smooth. We've already scheduled a meeting this coming week to resolve the issue on real property tax payments," Codilla said.

The city is yet to receive from EDC P295 million in taxes but EDC, citing RA 9513, has been demanding instead an overpayment of P45 million, he said.

Without EDC's payment, the city has collected until May for this year only a total of P5 million, and this meant that should the EDC avail of the law's special tax rate, the DepEd-Ormoc is bound to lose a substantial amount of fund to cover the salary of teachers, books, infrastructures, seminars and trainings.

Codilla also told The FREEMAN that each member of the AGEPL will conduct information dissemination among their respective constituents the pros and cons of the controversial law.

AGEPL members were also planning to replicate the move of Ormoc City in informing local DepEd division which in turn respond positively by issuing a manifesto of their own. Students and separately parents association likewise did thier share.

Acknowledging the degree of difficulty in the fight against RA 9513, Codilla said he is planning to send all resolutions gathered from members, manifestos, signatures and other forms of legal protests altogether.

He is also looking for help from the League of Cities of the Philippines, including the host provinces and regions of the affected LGUs. Province of a host municipality or city except Ormoc being a chartered one, also benefited from the taxes derived from the developer companies.

DepEd-Ormoc, for its part, will be sending a manifesto or protest to President Noynoy Aquino, the Senate oversight committee, and education secretary Luistro, demanding for the suspension of the implementation of RA 9513.