State-lenders Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) received their largest capital infusions from the national government during the Duterte administration.
In a statement, the Department of Finance (DOF) said the government infused a total of P53.3 billion in cash into the Land Bank and DBP over a five-year period.
The DOF said the financial support is larger than the combined capital infusions from all administrations since the two main government financial institutions were established.
Under President Duterte’s watch, Land Bank received P38.79 billion in capital infusion as of February 28, 2021, which accounts for 72.11 percent of the total paid-up capital of the bank.
The DBP, meanwhile, received a total of P14.5 billion in capital infusion under the Duterte administration.
Land Bank’s paid-up capital of P1.8 billion in 1992 grew at a slow paced, as the past administrations did not inject capital into the bank but was instead issued stock dividends. It was only during the second Aquino administration that the government infused capital into lender in the amount of P3.03 billion.
From 1992 to 2010, the government did not infuse additional capital into Land Bank but its paid-up capital still increased from P1.8 billion to P11.97 billion due to issuance of stock dividends.
Land Bank issued stock dividends worth P5.6 billion during the administration of then- President Ramos; P1.6 billion during the term of ex-President Estrada and P2.97 billion during the time of former President Arroyo.
Since President Duterte took over in 2016, the government invested a total of P38.79 billion so far in Land Bank, of which P27.5 billion was infused in February 2021, in line with the provisions of the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2).
As for DBP, P12.5 billion of the P14.5 billion infused by the Duterte administration into the bank were in step with the Bayanihan 2 law provisions to let the bank provide wholesale banking services and cover the loans and interest subsidies of pandemic-hit enterprises. This P12.5 billion infusion represents 39 percent of DBP’s total paid-up capital of P32 billion.