GOVERNOR LILIA “Nanay Baby” Pineda has set the target of P400 million for the province’s quarry collections in 2012.

For 2011, the provincial government managed to snag an unprecedented P236,130,000. We are looking here at an increase of some P164 million to hit the governor’s bull’s eye.

A tall order there. But the chief of the provincial environment and natural resources office (PENRO), Engineer Art Punzalan appears unfazed, banking on the P50 quarry fee increase on the current P150 being collected per truck of sand.

“With the increase in quarry fee there would be a natural increase on the quarry collection and we hope that this will contribute to our overall collection,” he said.

Yet another dagdag, er, add-on, implemented this year is the P30-per truck fee for the use of weighing scales to strictly implement the Anti-Overloading Law.

Punzalan has likewise considered this as yet another booster to meet the governor’s P400 million target.

There too, he cited, is the strict implementation of safeguards and procedures on the collection itself: “Our safety nets are still there.

The regulation and monitoring of quarry activities is still the top priority of the PENRO and is among the sure measures that contribute to our effective quarry collection.”

Okay, we concede we are not good in mathematics. But let us try, anyway, figuring out Punzalan’s figures.

The quarry fee increase of P50 and the weigh-in fee of P30 make P80. Add to the daily P300 all-in fee total to P380 per truck per day.

Multiply that by 3,000 trucks and you get P1,140,000 per day. Times 20 days (the regular day-count of one month in quarry affairs) and you get P22,800,000 per month.

Totalling to P273,000,000 for the year – well short of P400,000,000.

To reach that target the remaining 115 days of the year – uncounted in the quarry calendar of only 20 days per month – would have to produce the P1,140,000 daily collection too.

In that process gaining a total of P131,100,000 which when added to the P273,000,000 would produce P404,700,000. The governor’s target hit! 101 percent, at that!

Yes, Punzalan has reasons to be unfazed. We just do hope by the end of 2012, he would not be un-faced.