State firms’ remittances dive 46%

Dividends remitted by state-run firms to the National Government declined to P2.03 billion from January to May or 46 percent lower than the P3.74 billion recorded in the same period last year.

Finance Undersecretary Jeremias Paul attributed the decline to the P86-billion loss incurred by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in 2007.

The losses, mostly from the steady appreciation of the peso against the dollar, prevented the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), from remitting dividends to the National Government (NG).

Under Republic Act 7656 or the Dividends Law of 1994, Government Owned Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) and Government Financial Institutions (GFIs) are required to remit half or 50 percent of the income earned in each fiscal year to the National Government. The remittance should be in the form of cash or in real estate properties with clean titles.

Major contributors include the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), National Power Corp. (Napocor), Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank), the

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS).

Paul said that while the DOF is encouraging firms to remit dividends to the National Government, it also wants GOCCs and GFIs to inject additional funds into the economy to help the government weather a difficult global environment.