GOCC dividends hit P129 billion as of April

MANILA, Philippines — State-owned corporations have remitted P129.45 billion in dividends to the national treasury in the first four months, the bulk of the amount was used to fund coronavirus disease 2019  or COVID-19 response measures, the Department of Finance (DOF) reported yesterday.

According to the latest data from the DOF, P91.62 billion of the total dividends was remitted after the effectivity of Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.

The DOF’s Corporate Affairs Group said this is the largest sum ever collected from government- owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) in only a span of five weeks.

Before the law was passed, GOCCs were able to remit a total of P37.83 billion to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) from Jan. 1 to March 23.

Meanwhile, the DOF said P121.75 billion of the total amount also came in the form of cash dividends, which state-run firms are required to remit under Republic Act 7656 or the GOCC Dividend Law.

The law states that GOCCs are required to declare and submit at least half of their income as dividends to the national government.

The remaining amount consisted of unutilized subsidies, guarantee fees and national government advances, according to the DOF.

DOF data showed that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) had the highest amount of remittances during the four-month period at P37.48 billion, followed by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. with P17.9 billion.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority turned over P12 billion each.

The Manila International Airport Authority and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines likewise remitted P6 billion each, while the Philippine Ports Authority sent P5.05 billion.

Remittances from the Philippine National Oil Corp. (PNOC) reached P5 billion; National Power Corp., P4 billion; Philippine Reclamation Authority, P3.8 billion; Bases Conversion and Development Authority, P2.69 billion; Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, P2.27 billion, PNOC Exploration Corp, P2 billion; and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, P2 billion.

Other GOCCs who remitted to the BTr include the National Electrification Administration (P1.55 billion), Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (P1.43 billion), Clark Development Corp. (P1.13 billion), Light Rail Transit Authority (P1 billion) and the National Irrigation Administration (P1 billion), among others.