Behind the numbers, between the lines

Behind the numbers

ITEM 1. CDC remits ₱2.488-B in dividends, posts ₱5.5-B total under Marcos admin.

Clark Development Corp. president and CEO. Agnes VST Devanadera said the remittance of ₱2.488 billion for dividend year 2024 turned over to the Bureau of the Treasury in compliance with RA 7656 (Dividend Law) represents 71% of CDC’s audited net income for the year and marks a 38% increase from the ₱1.8 billion remitted in 2023. With the ₱1.21 billion in 2022, CDC’s remittances under the Marcos administration total to P5.5 billion.

Item 2. BCDA posts record-high P2.04-B dividends, total remittances reach P5.2-B as of May 2025.

Dividends remitted by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority to the national government reached a record-high of P2.04 billion in 2025, marking a 30.68% jump from last year’s P1.56 billion. This milestone underscores BCDA’s growing fiscal contribution driven by efficient revenue generation and expenditure management.

The remittance represents 80% of the BCDA’s net earnings in 2024—well above the 50% minimum required by RA 7656, and exceeding the Department of Finance’s call for government-owned and -controlled corporations to remit at least 75% of their net income.

Comparisons, so ‘tis said, are always odious but it can’t be helped to note here that CDC’s remittances beat BCDA’s by a whopping P448 million for 2024, and the three-year total by P300 million.  

What makes this interestingly intriguing is that CDC is only a subsidiary of the BCDA. And BCDA has the gall to claim “record-high” dividends?

Between the lines

OF THE remittance, Devanadera was matter-of-factly: “GOCC dividends serve as vital non-tax revenues that empower the government to accelerate infrastructure development—translating into roads, bridges, classrooms, and programs that drive inclusive growth and economic resilience.” 

Whereas, BCDA president and CEO Joshua M. Bingcang was all pomposity: “The BCDA’s record-high dividend remittance is a proof of the agency’s robust financial position, driven by our unwavering commitment to transform former military bases into bustling economic hubs through high-impact public-private partnerships.”

Performance, er, underperformance-wise, somebody’s courtesy resignation ought to be accepted by President Marcos Jr. Else, he takes cockalorum for achievement.