PPA dividend contribution of P21.5B exceeds remittances in 23 years

The Philippines Ports Authority (PPA) has turned over to the National Treasury P4.08 billion in cash dividends this year, bringing its total dividend contributions under President Duterte to a precedent-setting P21.48 billion, an amount that exceeds the sum of P20.5 billion it had remitted in more than two decades under the previous administrations since 1994.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III received on behalf of the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) a cheque worth P4.08 billion from PPA General Manager Jay Santiago last Monday (March 21, 2022).

This amount represents the PPA’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. 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 as we sustain our economic recovery,” Dominguez said.

Also present at the turnover event were Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade; DOF Undersecretary Antonette Tionko, who heads the Department’s Corporate Affairs Group (CAG) and Revenue Operations Group (ROG); DOTr Undersecretary Giovanni Lopez; and DOF Assistant Secretary Soledad Emilia Cruz.

According to DOF-CAG, the total dividend remittances to the national government (NG) 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.