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By Chino S. Leyco, Reporter
DIVIDENDS remitted by government-owned and
-controlled corporations to the national government fell sharply in
the first five months of the year, the Bureau of Treasury said
Friday.
In a document, the bureau said it collected
P2.031 billion, or 45 percent lower than the P3.744 billion remitted
in the same period last year.
Finance Undersecretary Jere-mias Paul Jr. said
government enjoyed lower dividends during the period due to
non-remittance by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) after it
ended last year with a budget deficit.
He said the government is no longer requiring
state firms to remit dividends this year, citing Land Bank of the
Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), which are
supporting a drive to stimulate the economy through lending.
“BSP had lost last year. Essentially [it was]
not able to provide dividends, but if you were to take that out, we
actually have higher dividends,” Paul said.
For agriculture, Paul said the National
Irrigation Administration is accelerating infrastructure projects.
Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said an
additional P20 billion will be provided by Land Bank and DBP, which
would set aside P15 billion and P5 billion, respectively.
In May, the national government posted a surplus
of P7 billion, or higher than the P1.7 billion deficit in the same
period last year.
Revenues last month amounted to P106.9 billion,
13.5 percent higher than the P94.1 billion last year. Expenditures
reached P99.8 billion, an increase of 4.1 percent from last year’s
P95.9 billion.
The Bureaus of Internal Revenue and of Customs
collected P77.7 billion and P21.5 billion, respectively.
Total revenues for this year are programmed to
reach P1.2 trillion, as the government plans to end the year with a
P40-billion to P75-billion deficit.
Balanced budget seen still possible
Despite the government’s pessimism, ATR KimEng
Securities Inc. said the government will balance its budget this
year.
“The budget may yet be balanced on a
combination of resumption in asset sales, controlled spending and a
plateauing of commodity prices. Our forecast of a small surplus
assumes asset sales and lower commodity prices,” ATR KimEng said
in a recent research note.
With a balanced budget, the government would no
longer seek new borrowings to support its operation, as it has
enough revenues to support the planned increase in state spending.
The government is eyeing to sell its 40-percent
stake in Petron Corp. in September subject to Malacañang approval.
The government raised P90.6 billion last year from the sale of
state-owned assets, including its controlling stake in Philippine
National Oil Co.-Energy Development Corp.
This year, the Finance department expects P29.6
billion in privatization revenues. In January, the government raised
P8.9 billion when it sold shares in Manila Electric Co. to state-run
Government Service Insurance System.
-- With Maricel E. Burgonio
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