Only 31 or less than a third of the Philippines’ 108 government-owned and-controlled corporations (GOCCs) accounted for P9.37 trillion of the total assets of all GOCCs amounting to P10.3 trillion in 2020, according to data from the Department of Finance (DOF).
Engaged in a broad range of activities from insurance and financing to charity work and gaming, these 31 GOCCs also had most or P14.89 trillion of the P15.37 trillion total liabilities of the government corporate sector in 2020.
Finance Undersecretary Antonette Tionko, who heads the agency’s Corporate Affairs Group (CAG), said the amount translates to 91 percent and 97 percent of the total assets and liabilities of the government corporate sector in 2020.
“They are the major drivers of the financial and fiscal health of the government corporate sector. These assets also account for about half of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) of (P17.94 trillion) for the same period,” Tionko said.
The DOF-CAG’s report on the GOCCs’ performance in 2020 was based on the audited financial statements of these state-run corporations.
In terms of dividend contributions as mandated under Republic Act 7656, about half or 15 of these GOCCs remitted a total of P30.8 billion or 54 percent of the P57.55 billion dividends in 2021.
Excluding the P15.9 billion of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), these firms accounted for 74 percent of the P41.65 billion remitted in 2021.
The 31 GOCCs are “considered fiscally significant either as major contributors to the revenue of the national government or as recipients of direct and indirect support from the national government
“Most of these corporations form part of the consolidated public sector financing position of the Government,” according to the CAG report.
These 31 GOCCs and other state-run firms have also played a key role in helping augment the massive financing needed for the government’s COVID-19 response.
They are also expected to contribute in raising funds for the subsidy programs being implemented by Malacañang to ease the impact of high fuel and commodity prices triggered by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
