GOCC remittances to go a long way

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has said that record remittances from 54 government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) will go a long way in helping the Duterte administration hold down deficits and sustain its aggressive spending on infrastructure and human capital development.

Dominguez said recently at Malacañan Palace that the “remarkable financial achievement” of these GOCCs, which remitted a combined P32 billion over the January-July period alone, will help offset the subsidies that the government needs to shell out to other GOCCs performing crucial social missions such as ensuring stable food prices and providing electrification and safe water supply to low-income communities.

A total of 54 GOCCs remitted a record P32.03 billion in dividends in the first seven months of 2018, which is roughly P1.6 billion more or 5.2 percent higher than the P30.46 billion collected from these state-run firms for the entire year of 2017, he said.

“It is difficult to imagine our economic achievement without the tremendous contributions of our GOCCs. They have made possible mass housing, rural electrification, secure and safe water supplies for our burgeoning population, reliable mass transport and stable food prices, efficient health programs and social security services,” Dominguez said during this year’s GOCC Day held at the Rizal Hall of the Palace. /