Philippines gaming regulator PAGCOR has remitted its highest ever one-time cash dividend to the government with a record Php16.17 billion (US$316.3 million) turned over on Thursday’s 2019 Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCC) Day.
The amount, announced by PAGCOR late Friday, was almost as much as the regulator’s total combined remittance of Php17.16 billion (US$335.7 million) from 2011 to 2017.
Under the Philippines’ Republic Act 7656, GOCCs are required to remit at least 50% of their annual net earnings as cash, stock or property dividends to the government.
“Since 2011, PAGCOR has been remitting cash dividends to the government but it was in 2018 when we posted the highest amount,” said PAGCOR chair Andrea Domingo.
“Because of this, PAGCOR’s total remitted cash dividends from 2011 to the present has reached Php33.33 billion, enabling the agency to consistently make it to the GOCC Elite Circle or the Billionaires’ Club. These are the corporations that remit at least Php1 billion cash dividends to the government.”
The Department of Finance (DOF) reported that cash dividends collected from the country’s 53 GOCCs reached a record-high of Php61.3 billion (US$1.2 billion) this year, surpassing last year’s Php51.24 billion milestone with PAGCOR’s dividend contribution the of all GOCCs.