GOCC dividends down to P1.27 B

MANILA, Philippines -  Dividends remitted by state firms to the national government declined to P1.27 billion in April from P22.23 billion in the same month last year, data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed.

From January to April, dividends remitted by government-owned and -controlled corporations reached P4.62 billion, down from the P26 billion recorded in the same period in 2016.

The BTr said the lower amount of dividends posted during the period was due to the timing of the collections as compared to last year.

“Most GOCCs remitted dividends in April last year, whereas 2017 collections are just coming in,” the Treasury said in an earlier statement.

“As of May 18, P16.8 billion in dividends have been forwarded to be reflected as part of end-May figures,” it said.

GOCCs are required to remit at least half of their net profit to the national government pursuant to Republic Act 7656 or the GOCC Dividend Law.

Under the revised guidelines of the law, full payments of the minimum dividend are mandated to be made on or before May 15 of each year, or one month after the deadline of the filing of income tax returns to the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

For April alone, the highest dividends came from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, which remitted P600 million to the BTr.

The Clark Development Corp. followed with P500 million, Food Terminal Inc. with P87 million and the National Electrification Administration with P67 million.

Other state corporations which remitted dividends were the Land Bank of the Philippines- Masaganang Sakahan Inc. with P14 million and Apo Production Unit Inc. with P3 million.