GOVERNMENT-OWNED or-controlled corporations (GOCCs) are expected to generate P157 billion in remittances this year, Department of Finance (DoF) Secretary Ralph G. Recto said.
He was speaking at GOCC Day in Malacañang, where 53 GOCCs transferred P116.84 billion to the Bureau of the Treasury, with 15 remitting at least P1 billion each.
“Possibly we can hit P157 billion… That’s a possibility. Hopefully that will reduce our deficit,” Mr. Recto told reporters on Tuesday.
The government aims to trim the share of the deficit relative to gross domestic product to 5.5% this year and eventually to 3.1% by 2030.
GOCC dividends are a major source of non-tax revenues for the national government, helping fund the President’s priority programs without the need to impose new taxes.
The top source of dividends was the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK), which remitted P33.53 billion.
This was followed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (P18.91 billion), Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (P12.68 billion), and Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (P10.13 billion), the Power Sector Assets & Liabilities Management Corp. (P8.96 billion), and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (P5.33 billion).
In a speech, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. noted the growth in remittances of GOCCs since state-owned firms were reorganized into the category, averaging P36 billion in 2011-2013 to P137 billion in 2024.
GOCCs “finance the establishment and renovations of classrooms, of hospitals, and of infrastructure, as well as the implementation of vital social programs,” he said.
Mr. Marcos also approved the Compensation and Position Classification System (CPSP) II, which increases the salaries of GOCC employees and provided tiered medical allowances.
GOCCs are required by Republic Act 7656 to surrender at least 50% of their profits to the Treasury, though the DoF has since asked them to remit 75%. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante
