GOVERNMENT-OWNED or -controlled corporations’ (GOCCs) dividends will be stronger than expected this year, with the gaming industry regulator largely responsible for the upside, Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said.
“PIGO (Philippine Inland Gaming Operations) led to an increase in dividends from PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.), which we did not expect,” he told reporters recently.
Mr. Recto has said that GOCC dividends overall will exceed the target by “P90 billion to P110 billion.”
The Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing report had assumed that state-run firms will remit only P20 billion this year.
Asked to clarify whether Mr. Recto meant the final dividend tally would be P110-P130 billion, Undersecretary Ma. Luwalhati C. Dorotan-Tiuseco provided confirmation.
The Department of Finance (DoF) reported on Tuesday that GOCCs had remitted P105 billion to the Bureau of the Treasury as of July, indicating that dividends are currently approaching the low end of the projected range.
The top source of dividends was the Land Bank of the Philippines, which had remitted P26 billion.
This was followed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (P18.91 billion), PAGCOR (P12.68 billion), and Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (P10.13 billion), Power Sector Assets & Liabilities Management Corp. (P8.96 billion), the Philippine Ports Authority (P5.20 billion) and Manila International Airport Authority (P3.32 billion).
Rounding out the list of top remitters were Clark Development Corp. (P2.49 billion), the Philippine National Oil Co. (P2.43 billion) and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (P2.20 billion) also among the top remitters.
In order to boost nontax revenue, the DoF had requested GOCCs to remit dividends equivalent to 75% of their net earnings, well above the 50% floor set by Republic Act No. 7656 or the Dividend Law.
Separately, Mr. Recto ruled out any possible sales of major government assets this year, saying that any disposals will be small.
Asked for updates on the proposed sale of the government’s stake in the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), Mr. Recto said: “I think that’s still being worked on” by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority.
Last year, the BCDA said it was considering selling its remaining stake in the toll road to MPIC.
Mr. Recto also floated the possibility of the Social Security System or Government Service Insurance System taking over the SCTEX stake, failing which the two government pension funds could look into “other privatization assets.”
The government is set to generate P36.26 billion from the sale of the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan hydroelectric complex.
For 2026, the goal for privatization proceeds has been set at around P100 billion after changes to the medium-term fiscal framework approved by the Development Budget Coordination Committee.
MPIC is one of the three key Philippine units of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority share in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante
