Bulacan provincial treasurer Belinda Bartolome said the COA report cited 10 top earning provinces in the country with Bulacan being number one.
The COA report also cited Negros Occidental coming second with earnings worth P3.58 billion, Rizal with P3.31 billion, Pangasinan wth P3 billion, Cavite with P3.08 billion, Laguna with P3.03 billion, Quezon with P3.02 billion, Batangas with P2.6 billion, and Bukidnon with P2.5 billion.
Bartolome said Bulacan’s income was mostly derived from its high-quality marble minerals from the Sierra Madge mountains in the areas of San Rafael, San Ildefonso, and San Miguel.
Records from the Bulacan Provincial Planning and Development Office indicated that about 70 percent of the country’s marble exports are from Bulacan where 32 out of 60 known marble varieties are found.
Bartolome also cited earnings from mining “marble limestone and another metallic limestone that serve as raw materials for the manufacture of cement, toothpaste, paint, fertilizer, soap and other products.”
“Bulacan’s iron ore is also of high quality as it is 62 to 75 percent iron. This is higher than the international standard of only 67 percent,” she noted.
Bartolome also said that the mining industry growth was also coupled with progress in the cooperative sector which, in 2015, had invested capital worth P9.18 billion.
She said Bulacan has been hosting over 30,000 micro, small and performedium business enterprises, the highest number in Central Luzon..
Bartolome also reported that the Bulacan provincial government earned much from taxes paid by some 2,000 jewelry establishments in Meycauayan, 500 fireworks factories, and 200 furniture makers whose products were exported to Europe, Middle East, South Korea, Taiwan, Mexico and the US.
