President Benigno Aquino III. AFP FILE PHOTO
MANILA—Government corporations turned over at least P32 billion in earnings to the national government on Monday, to the delight of President Aquino who drew comparisons to less collections made by his predecessor in nine years.
The President said government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) had remitted a total of P95.38 billion since he took office in 2010.
The collection exceeded the P81.54-billion in dividends collected under the watch of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from 2002 to 2010, he pointed out.
“This means, just to be clear, that their average collection of P9.06 billion in nine years, we have already exceeded with an average of P27.25 billion in just three and a half years,” he said in a speech during the ceremonial turnover of dividends in Malacañang.
“The question now is: if this could be done by the GOCCs, how come it was not done before? As I have discussed with Vice [President Jejomar Binay], where did the balance of P18 billion per year go?”
Republic Act No. 7656 requires all GOCCs to “declare and remit at least fifty percent of their annual net earnings as cash, stock or property dividends to the national government.”
Topping the list of 49 GOCCs that turned over dividends this year was the Land Bank of the Philippines with P6.3 billion.
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. turned over P4.093 billion in dividends on top of another P5.7 billion in “other forms of remittances.”
The Development Bank of the Philippines remitted P3.62 billion, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. P2.5 billion, and the Bases Conversion Development Authority P2.108 billion.
Cracking the whip on erring or non-performing GOCCs has been high on the Aquino administration’s list of priorities, especially following the discovery of fat bonuses and exhorbitant allowances being received by company executives before.
Mr. Aquino commended GOCCs for their remittances, saying their efforts helped change the image of government.
“What used to be a burden is no more; what used to be an obstacle is now a partner,” he said. “It’s clear: the success of our efforts is the success of every Filipino.”