The Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) will heed the call of the Department of Finance to increase the amount of dividends it will remit to the National Treasury this year.
During PFDA’s 5 April board meeting in Iloilo City, board members led by Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. granted the request of Finance Secretary Ralph Recto for the government corporation to increase its dividend payout to 75 percent from the usual 50 percent to help fund government’s spending plans.
“We have to support the government in what it needs as long as it will not affect your own operations,” Sec. Tiu Laurel told fellow board members.
The PFDA, which develops, operates and maintains fishery post-harvest infrastructures and facilities and provides market information and related services, remitted to the Bureau of the Treasury P74.3 million in dividends last year, equivalent to 50 percent of net profit in 2022.
Last year, the government corporation booked a net profit of P171.2 million.
With the board approval of a 75 percent dividend payout rate, the PFDA will remit to the BTr this year a total P128.4 million, an increase of P54 million from last year.
PFDA’s management assured board members even with the higher dividend payout, operations of the government corporation won’t be affected given the strong performance of its various units, whose collection rate exceeds 90 percent.
