The national government's earnings from owning certain companies have already reached P88.6 billion, about an elevenfold increase from the P8 billion recorded last year.
Speaking at the 2024 Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations day, Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said that they expect to receive P100 billion in dividends by year-end.
“A quarter of your 100-billion peso remittance can help build 1,600 kilometers of farm-to-market roads, helping food growers transport their goods seamlessly and at a lower cost,” Recto said.
“Another quarter can construct more than 8,000 new public classrooms, laying the foundation for a brighter future for our children,” he said, noting that the remaining portion of the dividends can aid farmers and indigent persons.
“All of these can be achieved by your generous contribution of 100 billion pesos – big enough to transform the lives of our people and secure their future. But we can do so much more,” he further said.
For this year, 17 GOCCs have remitted at least one billion pesos of their 2023 net earnings in cash dividend remittances as of May 3, 2024.
The Land Bank of the Philippines emerged as the top dividend contributor, remitting P32.119 billion.
Other significant contributors were the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. with P10.676 billion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas with P9.200 billion, the Philippine Ports Authority with P5.058 billion, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation with P4.596 billion, and the Manila International Airport Authority with P3.459 billion.
Subsequent top dividend contributors included the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority with P3.071 billion, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office with P2.685 billion, the Philippine National Oil Company with P2.645 billion, the National Transmission Corporation with P2.169 billion, and the PNOC Exploration Corporation with P1.998 billion.
The Department of Finance earlier increased the contributions of the GOCCs’ net earnings from the minimum of 50 percent to 75 percent as a way to ease the tax collections from the public.
These dividends aims to serve as a significant source of non-tax revenues, supporting the accelerated implementation of infrastructure and various social and economic programs of the government.