PEZA remits P5.6-B dividends in 5 years (Sabong News)
Author
Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat
Date
APRIL 22 2022
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) reported that it remitted P898.471 million dividends to the national government for 2021, bringing its total dividend remittances to P5.6 billion to date.
PEZA Director General Charito B. Plaza highlighted that the agency remits 50 percent of its net income to the Bureau of the Treasury even amid the pandemic.
“PEZA continues to remit high dividends brought by our existing and new investments, projects, and expansions from 2017 to 2021,” said Plaza.
According to the PEZA Chief, “We had a steady increase in dividends from 2017 to 2020. While the pandemic was more felt in 2021, we were able to remit more than PHP 898 million for last year. With the increase in remitted dividends for 2021, I am confident that PEZA is headed towards bouncing back this present year.”
From 2017 to 2021, PEZA has already remitted P5,611,028,918 in dividends to the national government, or 8.05 percent higher than the P 5,193,111,137 billion dividends the agency had remitted from 1996 to 2016.
In total, PEZA remitted P10,804,140,055 for 26 years or from 1996 to 2021.
On the Corporate Income Tax (CIT), Plaza remitted P2,889,464,497 billion from 2017 to 2021.
PEZA also shared that it remitted P1.190 billion to the national government for its Covid-19 response which was the requested contributions from Government-Owned and Controlled Operations (GOCCs) for that year.
“As PEZA does not receive any subsidy from the government, we really have to be more aggressive and innovative in attracting new investments, creating employment, and generating exports. This is one of our ways of contributing to the goals and legacy of the Duterte administration especially in reopening the economy and rise from the effects of the pandemic,” said Plaza.
Plaza clarified that PEZA and PHIVIDEC Industrial Authority were not part of the P58 billion budgetary support from the national government to investment promotion agencies.
“PEZA and the PHIVIDEC Industrial Authority received no budgetary support at all. The two IPAs were listed as self-sufficient through the fees and other charges they demand from their locators,” said Plaza.
PEZA’s sources of revenue come from the agency’s service income such as to permit and inspection fees, processing fees, sewerage/garbage, fines, and transshipment. Another source is business income like service concession revenue, rent and lease income, and utility system fees among others.
Last year, PEZA reported a 14.016 percent increase in export income of $ 63.061 billion from $55.309 billion in 2020. Employment inside the ecozones also increased by 13.908 percent having 1,782,913 million jobs in 2021 from more than 1.5 million jobs two years ago.
