Says move is to ‘strengthen’ tax collection ILOCOS NORTE Gov. Michael M. Keon has transferred the quarry sites’ monitoring duties to the Office of the Governor, saying that the move is to “strengthen” the provincial government’s tax collection efficiency. Before the transfer, the monitoring of quarrying sites around the province was under the supervision of the Provincial Treasury Office. “One way of ensuring check and balance is to streamline the activity of quarry checkers which will now be directly supervised by the Office of the Governor,” the governor explained. Keon added that the 11 quarry checkers assigned at the treasurer’s office will also be put under review for possible delineation of their functions and a new group will be formed to replace them. During the whole nine-year term of former Ilocos Norte Gov. now second district Rep. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., quarry checkers have been directly reporting to the treasurer’s office, headed by provincial treasurer Josephine Calajate. Meanwhile, Calajate welcomed the governor’s move saying the transfer of quarry checkers to the OPG is a “very laudable” proposition. She also stated that for a better check-and-balance system, it will be more helpful for the province’s revenue collection office to have quarry checkers and roving teams under the governor’s office as they would be more able to focus on the payment and processing of quarry operators and permittees. To promote further transparency, Calajate suggested that a separate monitoring team should also be posted at the treasurer’s office to safeguard the revenue sources of the provincial government. “No aggapu ditoy ti checkers, chances are nagadu ti problema. Naturally, it would be better for the Provincial Treasurer’s Office if the checkers and a group of roving team will be under the governor’s office,” Calajate said. She stated further that her office has long been proposing the transfer of checkers under the OPG, similar to systems used by other provincial governments, to avoid problems at the quarrying sites, which is one of the Ilocos Norte government’s biggest sources of revenues. With the transfer, quarrying activities will now be a shared responsibility between the treasurer and governor’s offices. As a general rule, the governor is responsible for the issuance of permits while the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) will be in charge of processing permits and the treasurer’s office is tasked to collect payments. Leilanie G. Adriano
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