Manila, August 23 (Engineering Daily) -- Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said in a statement on Friday that record remittances from 54 government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) will go a long way in helping the Duterte administration hold down deficits and sustain its aggressive spending on infrastructure and human capital development.
He earlier said at an event in Malacañang Palace that the “remarkable financial achievement” of these GOCCs, which remitted a combined PHP32 billion over the January-July period alone, will help offset the subsidies that the government needs to spend on other GOCCs performing crucial social missions, such as ensuring stable food prices and providing electrification and safe water supply to low-income communities.
A total of 54 GOCCs remitted a record PHP32.03 billion in dividends in the first seven months of 2018, which is roughly PHP1.6 billion more or 5.2 percent higher than the PHP30.46 billion collected from these state-run firms for the entire year of 2017, he said.
Duterte received during the event a ceremonial cheque representing the dividend contributions of GOCCs for the January to June 2018 period amounting to PHP32.03 billion. GOCCs are required to declare and remit to the national government at least half of their income as dividends.
The government has a total of 125 GOCCs. Its newest GOCC is the Overseas Filipino Bank (OFB), which caters to the banking and financial needs of overseas-based Filipinos.
Last year, total dividend remittances from GOCCs reached PHP30.46 billion.
