GOCC dividends hit over P61B as of July
Credit to Author: MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO, TMT| Date: Fri, 12 Jul 2019 16:20:17 +0000
DIVIDENDS collected from government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) surged to more than P61 billion as of this month, the Department of Finance reported.
“As of July 2019, total dividend contributions from 53 GOCCs have…reached another record amount of P61.3 billion,” Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd announced during the 2019 GOCC Day at Malacañang on Thursday.
The dividends remitted in the first seven months of the year was 91 percent higher than the P32.03 billion collected in the same period last year.
The Finance chief said the top dividend contributors for the period were the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp.; Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines; Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; Philippine Ports Authority; Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.; Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office; Manila International Airport Authority; and National Power Corp.
“We also want to recognize Pag-IBIG Fund for declaring its highest dividend payout ever in 2018, amounting to P28.2 billion,” he added.
Dominguez also said Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines were allowed to retain their cash contributions to enable them to shore up their capital to meet the country’s development needs.
According to him, the collected dividends help offset the subsidies given out to state enterprises performing crucial social functions.
As of May, government subsidies received by state-owned companies plunged by 62.9 percent to P19.658 billion from the year-earlier figure, according to the Bureau of the Treasury.
State companies with the biggest funding assistance for the five-month period were the National
Irrigation Administration, with P11.394 billion; Philippine Health Insurance Corp., P1.449 billion; and the National Food Authority, P1.308 billion.
The latest dividends, Dominguez said, “will go a long way in helping us hold down deficits and continue funding the infrastructure and social programs of President (Rodrigo) Duterte.”
He also said the collected dividends helped provide funding for the pensions of uniformed personnel, and augment funding for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund created by Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law.
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