PPA remits ‘precedent-setting’ dividends—DOF (Sabong News)

Dividends remitted by the Philippines Ports Authority (PPA) to the government coffers under President Duterte’s watch exceeded the sum it had contributed in more than two decades, the Department of Finance (DOF) said. In a statement, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III on Wednesday, March 23, that PPA’s total dividend contributions recorded a precedent-setting during the Duterte administration, amounting to P21.48 billion. Dominguez noted that the amount surpassed the P20.5 billion total remittances of PPA under the previous administrations since 1994. Last March 21, PPA turned over to the Bureau of the Treasury P4.08 billion in cash dividends, which was received by Dominguez from PPA General Manager Jay Santiago. This amount represents the agency’s dividend contributions from its net earnings in 2021. Since 2018, the PPA has been remitting more than 50 percent of their previous year’s net earnings. “I commend the PPA under the leadership of General Manager Jay Santiago and the supervision of Transportation Secretary Art Tugade for being among our top GOCC [government-owned and controlled corporation] performers,” Dominguez said. “The PPA’s exceptional track record under the Duterte administration is a model that other GOCCs should emulate. We need all the help we can get from our state-run firms to further strengthen our fiscal position amid the external risks we are currently facing,” he added. According to DOF-Corporate Affairs Group (CAG), the total dividend remittances to the national government of the PPA from the effectivity of the Dividend Law in 1994 up to 2016 amounted to P20.50 billion. From 2017 to 2022 under the Duterte administration, the total dividend remittances of the PPA totaled P21.48 billion. “This amount surpasses the combined dividend collections of the past administrations,” Dominguez said. The PPA’s share along with the remittances of other GOCCs were used to augment the massive funding needed for the government’s COVID-19 response programs since the pandemic broke out in March 2020. Republic Act (RA) No. 7656 or the Dividends Law mandates all GOCCs to declare and remit to the NG at least 50 percent of their annual net earnings as cash, stock, or property dividends.