State-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) has remitted another advance cash dividends to state coffers to boost the Duterte administration’s revenue generation effort amid the prolonged pandemic.
In a statement, Andrea D. Domingo, PAGCOR chairman and chief executive officer said the gaming regulator and operator has remitted P2 billion to the Bureau of the Treasury last Friday, July 31.
Domingo said that last week’s remittance was on top of PAGCOR’s earlier contributions amounting to P3 billion.
“The agency’s latest remittance was in response to the request of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez for PAGCOR to remit P5 billion cash dividends in support of the government’s revenue generation effort,” Domingo said.
The advance cash dividends will also be crucial in providing funds to address health and economic impact of COVID-19, the PAGCOR chief added.
In May, PAGCOR released P1.345 billion to the Treasury, which was two weeks after the agency turned over P1.655 billion in cash dividends.
Domingo said PAGCOR remains committed to pump-in much-needed funds for the government’s battle against COVID-19 even if they have yet to recover from huge revenue losses from the pandemic’s impact on gaming operations.
“As the global health crisis drags on, our government needs more resources to help mitigate the pandemic’s impact. Our prudent use of our funds enables us to continuously aid the government in its effort to create measures that will help the country survive this very challenging time,” she said.
Recto Baltazar Jr., PAGCOR Finance Group vice president led the turnover of the agency’s latest cash dividend contribution to Deputy Treasurer-OIC Ed Mariño at the Bureau of the Treasury headquarters.
Mariño said the latest cash dividend remittance from PAGCOR will further supplement the government’s fund requirements especially with the forthcoming re-implementation of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) status in Metro Manila amid the threat of the Delta variant.
In 2020, PAGCOR remitted P18 billion to the Treasury for the year 2019. For 2018, the agency turned over a total of P16.17 billion cash dividends.
With its remittances, the state-run gaming firm has been consistently included in the top three cash dividend contributors among other government-owned and controlled corporations.