Dividends remitted by 49 government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs) reached P99.2 billion this year, surpassing its target and the actual collection from last year, data from the Department of Finance (DOF) showed.

This figure is 30 times bigger than the P69.12 billion of cash dividends remitted a year ago, and 83 times larger than the the P16 billion target for this year.

“Our government-owned and controlled corporations remain critical in the delivery and provision of public goods and critical social services and in funding the needs of the National Government’s development programs,” the DOF said in a statement.

“This stellar performance is testament to the administration's prudent and efficient management of its corporate public sector,” it added.

It can be recalled that the government received its highest dividends of P135.13 billion in 2020, which were used to support various social and economic programs to counter the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Currently, the latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed that the dividends from shares of stocks stand at P64.13 billion from January to October.

Republic Act 7656, or the Dividends Law, requires GOCCs to remit at least 50 percent of their net earnings to the national government.

Meanwhile, the budgetary support of the government to certain GOCCs declined by 77 percent to P9.19 billion in October compared to P39.92 billion in the same month a year ago, based on Treasury data.

This translates to P146.32 billion in subsidies given to GOCCs from January to October, which is lower than P162.17 billion in the same period a year earlier.

It also means that the subsidy expenses as of end-October already reached 97.47 percent of the national government's allocated budget of P150.01 billion for the year.