President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Monday that the P88.5 billion in dividend collections from the government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) would be used to improve government service.

In his speech during the 2024 GOCCs' Day, Marcos explained that GOCCs serve as crucial service providers to the Filipino people.

"It is wrong to view GOCCs as mere revenue generators. The truth is, GOCCs are chartered to be service providers first, and profit centers afterward," President Marcos said.

He highlighted that the true value of GOCCs is not solely in the dividends they remit to the Treasury but also in the services they provide to the public.

Marcos stressed that GOCCs are public trusts meant to serve as government frontline institutions.

Republic Act No. 7656 said that all GOCCs must declare and remit to the government at least half or 50 percent of their yearly net profits as cash, stock, or property rewards.

"Since those dividends also come from the people, let me assure you, that they will be carefully spent like the precious taxes that come from the sweat of their brow. It will be plowed back to them through projects and programs that will improve their lives today, and also create a better tomorrow for our children," Marcos said.

"It will be invested back to growth-inducing activities that create jobs and harness opportunities," he added. 

Marcos then expressed his confidence that the P100-billion dividends remitted by the GOCCs will be surpassed this year, saying that the government is "right on track to meet that goal."

Data from the Department of Finance (DOF) showed that P88.5 billion was collected as of May 2024, an elevenfold increase over the P8 billion collected from the same period in 2023.

A total of 47 GOCCs contributed to the total remittance.

The Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) has the highest contribution at P32.119 billion, followed by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) at P10.676 billion, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) at P9.200 billion.