Semirara turns over P2.65 B royalties to DOE

MANILA, Philippines -  Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC), the integrated energy company of Consunji-owned conglomerate DMCI Holdings, turned over P2.65 billion in royalties to the Department of Energy (DOE) last year, up 47 percent from the P1.8 billion it remitted in 2015.

Of the P2.65 billion, more than P1 billion will go to the local government units (LGU) where SMPC operates, under the 20 percent-45 percent-35 percent sharing between the Province of Antique, Municipality of Caluya and Barangay Semirara, respectively.

SMPC president and chief operating officer Victor Consunji said the move is part of the company’s commitment as an energy company.

“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,” Consunji said.

Under the law, energy companies must allocate a portion of their earnings to stakeholders. Specifically, local government units are entitled to a 40-percent share of royalty proceeds from petroleum, coal, geothermal, hydrothermal and wind resources.

SMPC’s remittances account for a huge chunk of government revenue generated from royalties.

A Department of Budget and Management report released in June 2016 showed that SMPC’s 2015 remittances accounted for 83 percent of the P2.2 billion total government royalty collections from energy resource and production. Western Visayas, SMPC’s host region, received the biggest LGU share at nearly P725 million.

DMCI Holdings bought into SMPC in 1997. Since then, SMPC’s total royalties to the national government have exceeded P13.5 billion, data from the company showed.

Last year, SMPC’s consolidated net income reached P12 billion last year as coal and power sales grew.

This resulted in a 43-percent year-on-year improvement in income contribution to DMCI Holdings to P6.9 billion from P4.8 billion.