MANILA – The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) remitted PHP4.44 billion in dividends to the national government in the past year, a 9 percent increase from the previous year.
In a statement on Wednesday, PPA General Manager Jay Santiago said the remittance, part of its responsibility as a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC), marks the sixth year the PPA has been included in the top 10 contributors among GOCCs.
“The latest dividends contribution from PPA will greatly help our government's recovery efforts from the pandemic especially now that we are gaining momentum towards economic recovery,” Santiago said.
The amount is nearing its pre-pandemic remittance record of PHP5.05 billion in 2019 --the highest since the office was created in 1986.
“This is a clear manifestation that honest and transparent public service goes a long way, we are now reaping the benefits of management reforms over the past years,” he said.
Santiago said the PPA is also on track to deliver higher dividends for the fiscal year 2023.
He said the PPA’s recent performance is a far cry from about a decade ago, with the PPA remitting a total of PHP8.3 billion from 2010 to 2015 compared to PHP25.9 billion from 2016 to 2022.
“Malaking bagay po 'yung streamlining ng mga proseso natin sa pantalan at pati na rin syempre 'yung port modernization na sinimulan natin para hindi tayo napag-iiwanan when it comes to global standards and performance (What really helped was the streamlining of port processes and of course, port modernization which we started to ensure we’re up to par with global standards and performance),” he said.
Republic Act No. 7656 or “An Act Requiring Government Owned or Controlled Corporations to Declare Dividends under Certain Conditions to the National Government, and for other purposes” known as dividend law, requires the PPA to declare and remit at least 50 percent of its net earnings, as cash, stock and/or property dividends to the national government for national development and building. (PNA)
