CoA orders dissolution of state-owned infra investment company
THE COMMISSION on Audit (CoA) has again recommended the immediate dissolution of a government-owned infrastructure investment company that has been inactive for more than 10 years but continues to incur expenses.
In a 2022 audit report released March 23, CoA told the National Development Company-Philippine Infrastructure Corp. (NPIC) to formally classify itself as an inactive or non-operational government-owned and -controlled corporation.
“The indecisiveness of the corporation’s management whether to pursue its corporate dissolution or apply for reactivation in its prolonged inactivity while continuously incurring expenses aggregating to P17.53 million for the last 15 years,” the report said.
CoA previously recommended the abolition of the NPIC in its 2021 annual audit report.
It said closing the NPIC is “more practical and cost-efficient.”
It also noted that the company’s dividends from its 2021 net earnings were not declared and remitted to the national government, violating Republic Act No. 7656, which mandates all state-owned corporations to remit its additional revenues to the government.
State auditors also recommended that NPIC declare and remit its dividends on time to avoid penalties and other charges.
Audits show that the NPIC had a net income of P439,216 in 2022, higher than its P390,130 net earnings in 2021.
The NPIC was created in 2005 to develop, package, structure, and/or manage investments in infrastructure projects and commercial ventures.
It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Development Company and is attached to the Department of Trade and Industry. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
