THE Philippine Aerospace Development Corp. (PADC) will be among the government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) which may be shut down next year.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, an ex-officio member of the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG), said that the agency has not fulfilled its mandate.

“We just had a GCG meeting. One was Philippine Aerospace Development Corp.,” Mr. Dominguez told reporters earlier this month when asked what GOCCs are being considered for rationalization in 2018.

“They are supposed to design a plane. It’s been 45 years already, and they have not designed a plane yet. Their record is unblemished by accomplishment,” he added.

The agency was created in September 1973, under Presidential Decree No. 286.

The PADC is tasked with developing the Philippine aerospace industry by designing and manufacturing aircraft, while developing domestic capability in aircraft maintenance and repair.

The status of North Luzon Railways Corp. (Northrail) is also up for review, he said.

The agency was created primarily to handle the Northrail project connecting Metro Manila to Central Luzon, and eventually northern Luzon. The project never got off the ground due to a corruption scandal.

The government is also currently working on the merger of GOCCs with guarantee services functions into a single unit under the Philippine Export-Import Credit Agency (PhilEXIM) — to streamline processes.

Part of the merger will include the Home Guaranty Corp., Small Business Corp., and Quedan & Rural Guarantee Corp.

GOCCs are required by law to remit half of their earnings back to the national government as dividends.

In the nine months to September, GOCCs remitted a total of P21.62 billion in dividends. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

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