The various government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCC) remitted dividends 32 percent more in 2018 than the year before, totaling P40.17 billion.

More would have been sent to the nation’s coffers had the Land Bank of the Philippines not been given authority to skip the annual exercises and remit half of all its earnings for the period as mandated by law.

The PDIC emerged as this year’s top dividend contributor with a total of P8.844 billion.

This was learned from the Department of Finance (DoF) on Friday when the agency said P40 billion, a new record, was sent to the Bureau of the Treasury as dividend earnings from some of the country’s most profitable government-run enterprises.

According to the DoF, this was the largest dividend remittance ever received since 1994 consistent with the mandate law requiring state-run corporations to submit 50 percent of their net earnings must be shared with the national government.

The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) wrote a check for P6 billion on 14 December 2018 that allowed the combined collection from the various GOCC to reach P40.17 billion.

The LandBank contributed another P7.82 billion that would have brought the aggregate dividends to hit just shy of P48 billion but was eventually allowed to keep the money to help boost its capital structure.

Finance Undersecretary Antonette Tionko said the national government waived its entitlement to the dividend fund in support of the buildup of capital at LandBank.

But still, the total amount raised from GOCC dividend remain the highest ever collected over a 24-year period. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said this much dividends sent to the nation’s coffers have never been collected before.

“The record amount demonstrates the effectivity of Undersecretary Tionko and her team in instilling fiscal discipline among the GOCC since the Duterte administration took over in 2016,” Dominguez said.

The corporate affairs group (CAG) at the DoF said the remittance of P40.17 billion is a 32 percent spike from previous dividend collection of only P30.46 billion in 2017.

“Covering the period from July 2016 to December 2018, the total cash dividend collection under the Duterte administration now amounts to P70.9 billion,” the DoF-CAG said.

According to the DoF, this was the largest dividend remittance ever received since 1994.

The PDIC emerged as this year’s top dividend contributor with a total of P8.844 billion.

The other top dividend contributors for the year included the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, with P6.224 billion; Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, with P3.637 billion; Philippine Ports Authority, with P3.103 billion; Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., with P2.593 billion; Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, with P2.535 billion; Manila International Airport Authority, with P2.251 billion and the National Power Corp., with P1.410 billion.