CLARK FREEPORT ZONE, PAMPANGA—Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has received three checks with a total amount of P11.33 billion representing the dividends remitted to the national government for 2017 by three government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) under the supervision of the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) formally turned over P2.01 billion, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), P6.22 billion, and the Philippine Ports Authority, P3.1 billion in checks on the sidelines of last Friday’s regional press launch here of the Philippines’ hosting of the 51stAnnual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade led officials of the three GOCCs in delivering the checks to Dominguez, who accepted them on behalf of the Bureau of Treasury (BTr).

“I commend the MIAA, CAAP and PPA under the stewardship of Secretary Tugade for setting a good example to other GOCCs in terms of practicing fiscal discipline,” Dominguez said.

DOTr Undersecretary for Administration and Finance Garry de Guzman, DOTR Undersecretary for Aviation and Airports Manuel Antonio Tamayo, PPA General Manager Jay Santiago, MIAA General Manager Eddie Monreal and CAAP Director General Jim Sydiongco joined Tugade in turning over the checks to Dominguez.

The MIAA, CAAP, and PPA were among the top GOCCs to remit the highest amounts of cash dividends to the Treasury in 2017.

Tugade, for his part, said: “I always tell our revenue-generating agencies to improve their collection. This is our way of contributing to the government, especially as we usher in the Golden Age of Philippine Infrastructure.”

Dividends remitted by GOCCs to the BTr in 2017 amounted to P30.45 billion, representing a 9.8 percent increase from the previous year’s collections of P27.73 billion, according to the DOF.

Dominguez said the 2017 dividend collections actually exceeded the P27.73 billion remittances in 2016 even if Land Bank of the Philippines was exempted from paying its P6 billion dividends in 2017 to allow it to recapitalize and better serve the increasing development needs of the country. Had these dividends not been exempted, the total dividend would have reached P36.45 billion.

Dividend collections totaling P30.45 billion last year came from 53 GOCCs, including the CAAP, which had not remitted dividends for the past four years, but has now emerged as one of the biggest dividend contributors.

CAAP was able to collect nearly P6 billion from Philippine Airlines in October last year, after President Duterte ordered the DOTr not to extend the deadline it had given to the flag carrier to pay its long-overdue navigational fees and other charges.

Besides CAAP, MIAA and PPA, among the other biggest dividend contributors were the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) with P7.46 billion; Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), P2.51 billion; Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), P1.84 billion; National Power Corp. (NPC), P1.39 billion; Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), P1.18 billion; and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), P923.60 million.

Among the other GOCCs that remitted to the National Treasury were the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) with P622.91 million; PNOC Exploration Corporation, P519.42 million; Clark Development Corporation (CDC), P500 million; National Development Company (NDC), P428.19 million; Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA), P323.76 million; Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), P319.08 million; Cebu Port Authority, P294.69 million; Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), P240.59 million; Metropolitan Waterworks & Sewerage System (MWSS), P232.63 million; and Philippine Leisure and Retirement Authority, P210.44 million.

The other GOCCs which remitted less than P200 million but more than P100 million in 2017 were the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority, National Housing Authority (NHA), National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC), Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC), Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA), Home Guaranty Corporation (HGC), and Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).

Those which remitted less than P100 million but more than P50 million were the PHIVIDEC Industrial Authority, Food Terminal Inc. (FTI), Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC), National Electrification Administration (NEA), and the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA).

Contributing dividends of less than P50 million but more than P10 million were the LBP Leasing Corporation, Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC), LBP Insurance Brokerage Inc. National Livelihood Dev’t Corp (Livecor), Apo Production Unit, Inc., LBP Resources and Development Corp (LBRDC), Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB), Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC), Philippine Postal Corporation, and Masaganang Sakahan Inc..

The DBP Leasing Corporation, DBP Data Center, Inc., GY Real Estate Inc., Small Business Guarantee Finance Corporation., Partido Development Administration, Batangas Land Company, Inc.. Philippine Mining Dev’t Corporation, and Kamayan Realty Corporation, all remitted less than P10 million.

The Philippine Sugar Corporation was only able to remit P800,oo0 while the Pinagkaisa Realty Corp. turned over dividends totaling P340,000.

One third of the 2017 remittances corresponds to collection of dividends in arrears of some GOCCs such as PDIC, CAAP, SBMA and NPC.

-oOo-