Happy New Year, folks!

First of all, it’s okay to take it slow and give yourself a little grace period if you let up on workouts and your diet after going through all the office parties and New Year’s Eve feasts.

Don’t feel so guilty after eating that crispy lechon skin and  sweet treats that you indulged in during the holidays. We all deserve to have some dopamine-inducing food after all the stressful activities throughout the entirety of 2023. This week is the moment of realization after the new year has been rung in and we are all back to work.

According to gym owners, January is really the peak season of their membership program as many people want to burn off all the excesses of the holiday season.  With all the “new year, new me” feeds over social media, it is time, indeed, to bounce back and keep things moving — back to business!

Speaking of business, the Department of Finance has released total collected dividends in 2023 from the 51 government-owned or controlled corporations which totaled P99.98 billion, or 46 percent higher from the P68.34 billion collected in 2022.

Among the top five contributors were the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (P6.96 billion), Philippine Ports Authority (P4.44 billion), Power Sector Assets & Liabilities Management Corporation (P3.15 billion), and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (P2.67 billion).

The ppa has done it again, it being a consistent top GOCC performer over the past six years. In 2019, the agency turned over a total of P5.05 billion in cash dividends to the National Treasury, the highest since its creation in 1986. In 2016-2022, the PPA remitted a total of P25.91 billion, the highest remittance in past decades.

The increasing PPA dividend hikes can be seen since 2016 with P1.96 billion; 2017 with P3.10 billion; 2018 with P3.52 billion; 2019’s highest amount ever remitted by the agency with P5.05 billion; Covid-19 pandemic year 2020 with P3.76 billion; a rebound of P4.08 billion in 2021; and the latest, that is, P4.44 billion in 2022, cementing PPA as one of the top-tier GOCC in terms of dividend remittances.

Under Republic Act 7656, An Act Requiring Government Owned or Controlled Corporations to Declare Dividends under Certain Conditions to the National Government, and for other purposes, or known as the Dividend Law, the PPA is required to declare and remit at least 50 percent of its net earnings in cash, stocks and/or property dividends to the National Government for national development and building.

In 2023 alone, PPA recorded a total 32.70 percent  increase in total revenue compared to 2022. Altogether, 81 projects were also added to the physical and infrastructure development performance of PPA with 39 projects in Luzon, 23 in the Visayas, and 19 in Mindanao.

Bidded out were nine ports, namely, Opol in Misamis Oriental; Jagna, Tupal, Ubay, Talibon, Getafe in Bohol; and Balbagon Benoni and Guinsilban in Camiguin. This brings to 28 the total number of ports successfully bid out to the private sector since the implementation of the Port Terminal Management Regulatory Framework.

In addition, the PPA was also able to process 96 applications under the Transport Accreditation, Permit and Pass for Ports System. 

Now that’s a lot of business and pure hard work from the brains behind the success of the PPA, General Manager Jay Santiago.

For 2024, programs and projects have been lined up as early as January. These include 79 infrastructure projects nationwide and the completion of 29 projects. Green ports initiatives will also be prioritized to help mitigate the effects of climate change while maintaining sustainable and resilient port development programs.

The prospect of getting back into the daily work routine after the long holidays can be a bit overwhelming but the new year is actually the perfect time to effectively accomplish more work and kickstart the year with a bang!

After all, we are all in the same boat this 2024. Cheers!