GOCC dividend remittance hits all-time high of P375 billion

MANILA, Philippines — Dividends collected from state-run firms more than doubled to P375 billion under the Duterte administration, even surpassing the collections during the past two presidencies combined.

According to the Department of Finance (DOF), government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) remitted a record P374.54 billion in dividends to the Bureau of the Treasury since 2016.

The total amount exceeded by 127 percent the P164.81 billion collection during the Aquino administration and the P60.82 billion posted during the Arroyo administration in nine years.

The DOF said the government recorded its highest collection ever from GOCCs in 2020, totaling P135.13 billion. The agency attributed the spike in GOCC dividends to the passage of Republic Act (RA) 11469, or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.

Under RA 11469, also called Bayanihan 1, the President was granted the power to reallocate funds, including subsidies and transfers, held by GOCCs into measures responding to the pandemic.

The DOF said that GOCC dividends received in 2020 were used to bankroll social amelioration for low-income families, unemployment assistance for displaced workers, as well as grants and loans for vulnerable sectors.

The DOF said that the 2020 remittances of state-owned firms kept up with pre-pandemic levels even without the emergency powers granted to the President by Bayanihan 1.

“However, even without the Bayanihan 1, the 2020 collection is at par with the 2019 level. The total cash collection during the Duterte administration represents a 77-percent increase over the Aquino administration,” the DOF said.

For 2022, the government has received a total of P58.25 billion in dividends from GOCCs as of June. Based on records, GOCC remittances went up by one percent from P57.55 billion during the same period last year.

GOCCs remitted a total of P57.55 billion in cash dividends in 2021, beating the pre-pandemic total of P52.59 billion in 2019, after the DOF told those with deficiencies to find a way to deliver on their backlogs.

Under RA 7656 or the Dividends Law, all GOCCs are mandated to declare and remit at least 50 percent of their annual earnings, as cash, stock or property dividends to the Treasury.