THE DEPARTMENT of Finance (DoF) said the National Power Corp. agreed to pay P3.44 billion in dividends, including those in arrears, with the proceeds to help fund infrastructure projects.
In a statement e-mailed to reporters on Friday, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, citing a report from the Finance department’s Corporate Affairs Group (CAG,) said Napocor committed to remit an additional P472 million worth of dividends for 2016 and another P2.97 billion in dividends owed from 2012 to 2015, payable over five years.
Napocor will remit P594 million annually, beginning in the third quarter for the amounts owed between 2012 and 2015, on top of the regularly-scheduled payments.
Government-owned and-controlled corporations (GOCCs) are required to remit at least half of their income as dividends to the national government in accordance with Section 3 of Republic Act no. 7656 or the Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCC) Dividend Law.
According to DoF Undersecretary Antonette C. Tiokno, the additional P3.44 billion in revenue will fund infrastructure and social spending, the budget for which amounts to P860.7 billion out of the P3.35 trillion national budget this year, up from the P756.4 billion programmed in 2016. The amount translates to 5.4% of the country’s total gross domestic product (GDP) for 2017.
“Even if we collect (from Napocor) they will still be left with sufficient cash for their operations,” she said. Ms. Tiokno also said Napocor remitted P333 million in dividends to in May.
Napocor did not reply to BusinessWorld when asked for comment.
The Bureau of Treasury reported dividends remitted GOCCs surged by 701.6% to P14.02 billion as of the May 15 deadline. In the five months to May, total dividends hit P18.641 billion, down 32.82% year-on-year. In 2016, the state collected P28.89 billion in dividends.
Mr. Dominguez had said that despite the increase in dividends, some P110.23 billion remains in arrears from 2016.
Those with dividends to remit include the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) with P46.5 billion, Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp. at P29.87 billion, Napocor at P20.66 billion, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) at P6.89 billion and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) at P6.31 billion. – Janine Marie D. Soliman
