By Janice Cave | (DOTR PR) Philippine News Agency
MANILA — The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) continues its strong fiscal performance, as it remitted PHP3.51 billion in dividends to the national coffers in 2018.
On top of this, the state-owned agency likewise paid PHP5.9 billion in taxes for 2018, more than half of the total taxes it paid in the last 10 years.
Overall, the PPA is contributing a record-breaking amount of PHP9.41 billion in terms of dividends and taxes to the national government for the past year, which can be used for the government’s various social welfare, health and other projects.
Latest data from the PPA showed that total dividends for 2018 amounted to PhP3.51 billion, setting another all-time record for the PPA. In 2017, PPA remitted some PHP3.1 billion, its highest recorded dividend then in the last 30 years. However, dividend payment for 2018 overshadowed the previous year’s, and now marks PPA’s highest dividend payment in history.
While growth percentage slowed down for the period covered, the increase in dividend remained high as the 2018 figure is 13 percent higher than the 2017 dividends remitted.
PPA is mandated to remit at least 50 percent of its annual net income to the NG after it was granted fiscal autonomy during the term of former President Corazon C. Aquino.
Meanwhile, total revenues for 2018 reached PHP17.49 billion or 8.13 percent higher than the target for the year. The amount is also higher by 14 percent compared to the total revenues recorded a year earlier.
Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade lauded the PPA for its robust fiscal performance which, in turn, shall contribute to the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program.
“As I previously said to the men and women of the PPA, their agency’s future fiscal performance shall be measured against their latest records. The agency has achieved so much in terms of dividends remittance despite the massive infrastructure spending for port rehabilitation and development. This kind of fiscal management shall truly aid the government in achieving the ‘Golden Age of Infrastructure’,” Tugade said.
According to PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago, the agency’s performance in the last two years has placed the PPA on stable financial ground, which will enable the agency to continue sustaining port services of the highest standards.
“The streamlining of port processes coupled with strategic port development and modernization have greatly contributed to this strong performance as we aim for our operations to be on par with global standards,” Santiago said.
Santiago added that the overall remittance of Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) is a positive indication of the country’s growing economic status worldwide.
“This is also a testament to the resiliency of the Philippine economy as it continues to thrive despite external pressures from different foreign economies,” Santiago added.
With this, the PPA is expected to once again land in the higher echelon of the “Billionaires’ Club” of GOCCs contributing billions of pesos in dividends to the national government. PPA is a consistent member of this club in the last decade but belonging only to the bottom half of the club. It only upped the ante when the Duterte administration took over in 2016.
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