Pagcor turns over P12 billion check for COVID-19 fight

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) on Monday transferred P12 billion in cash dividends to the national treasury to help cushion the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

The state gaming regulator said it turned over the check for its dividends to the Bureau of the Treasury (BoT) a day earlier than scheduled due to the urgency of the matter.

The amount, which comprises the agency’s 2019 cash dividends, is P5.67 billion more than the P6.33 billion dividends that Pagcor is required to remit, based on the agency’s 2019 financial report.

As mandated by the law, government-owned and -controlled corporations like Pagcor are required to remit at least 50 percent of their annual net earnings as cash, stock or property dividends to the national government.

Pagcor chair and CEO Andrea Domingo said that with the P12-billion remittance, the agency’s 2019 cash dividends was 44.74 percent higher than the required 50 percent annual net earnings of the agency.

In a letter to Pagcor, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the agency’s remittance will “make a substantial contribution to the efforts of the national government to cushion the impact of severe drop in government revenues, brought about by the slowdown in business activities due to measures taken to contain the spread of COVID-19.”

Aside from the P12 billion cash dividends, Pagcor has earlier donated a total of P2.5 billion to the national coffers to help curb the transmission COVID-19 in the country.

EDV