Dividends from government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) are expected to reach P156.84 billion this year, up 14.5 percent from last year’s P137.26 billion, the Department of Finance (DOF) said on Tuesday.
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said remittances from 53 state-run firms already hit P116.84 billion as of mid-September, with a further P40 billion likely to come in before yearend following talks with the GOCC heads.
“So the number that has definitely been accounted for is P117 billion by the end of the year, but I think there will be another P40 billion coming in. So, [that’s] about P157 billion,” Recto said on the sidelines of the GOCC Day celebration in Malacañang.
The projection marks another record in non-tax revenues, which help fund government programs without imposing new levies on Filipinos. Recto credited the gains to Malacañang’s directive raising the dividend remittance rate from the mandated 50 percent of net earnings under Republic Act 7656, or the Dividend Law, to 75 percent.
“Because of your cooperation, the government continues to improve public services without asking ordinary Filipinos to carry the burden of new taxes,” Recto said in his keynote address.
Top remitters
At least 15 GOCCs exceeded the P1 billion mark in dividend remittances, led by the Land Bank of the Philippines (P33.53 billion), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (P18.91 billion), Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (P12.68 billion), and Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (P10.13 billion).
Other major contributors included the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (P8.96 billion), Bases Conversion and Development Authority (P5.33 billion), Philippine Ports Authority (P5.20 billion), Manila International Airport Authority (P3.32 billion), Clark Development Corp. (P2.49 billion), and Philippine National Oil Company (P2.43 billion).
Also in the billion-peso club are the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (P1.77 billion), Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (P1.47 billion), Maharlika Investment Corp. (P1.45 billion), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (P1.39 billion), and Philippine Guarantee Corp. (P1.28 billion).
Dividends must serve Filipinos
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who joined Recto in recognizing the 53 state firms, vowed that the remittances would be used prudently. “We need to spend these funds with utmost transparency and accountability. Public trust is our most valuable currency,” Marcos said.
He added that GOCC dividends should finance priority programs such as classrooms, hospitals and social protection, while also driving systemic reforms to uplift the lives of Filipinos.
Marcos also approved an increase in salaries and medical allowances of GOCC employees, even as he urged state firms to modernize operations, simplify processes, and reduce red tape to align with global standards.
Recto, for his part, reminded GOCCs of their public mandate: “Our GOCCs are not government-owned, you are people-owned. Every service, every policy, and every peso must honor them.”
