Senate to probe P16B in 'non-remittance' by BSP

(Updated 7:47 p.m.) The Senate will summon next Tuesday officials of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to find out why more than P16 billion in earnings have not yet been remitted to the national government, Senator Franklin Drilon said Thursday. A 2008 Commission on Audit (COA) report showed that the central bank has yet to remit P7,750,519,000 or what was due to the national government from 2003 to 2005, Drilon said. He underscored that the BSP's non-remittance as of 2006 was P16 billion. "We want to find out whether or not this has been remitted to the national government. I will ask the BSP to tell us exactly how much [was remitted or not remitted]," said Drilon, who heads the Senate committee on finance. Drilon said that under Republic Act 7656, government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCC) — like the BSP — are required to declare and remit at least 50 percent of annual net earnings as cash and stock or property dividends to the national government. GMANews.TV got in touch with BSP Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. but one of his secretaries, who declined to be identified, said that the governor could not comment because he was at a Monetary Board meeting. Still, the BSP clarified that when COA advised the central bank to pay additional dividends in 2003 to 2006, the central bank "filed an appeal" to the state auditor for its payment of P16 billion in additional dividends to the government. "The issue, therefore, remains pending and the BSP remittance for this amount cannot be effected," the Bangko Sentral said in a statement Thursday. In the statement, the BSP said it has been remitting 75 percent — while other GOCCs remit only 50 percent — of its annual net income to the government, in accordance with the New Central Bank Act. "In fact, since its creation in 1993, the BSP has remitted to the national government more than P59 billion in dividends, over P17 billion in interest rebates, and more than P50 billion in taxes in the last 11 years," the BSP said. The central bank, which estimated a net income of P13 billion in 2009, said it would remit over P4 billion in additional cash dividends in the "next few months." Drilon reiterated that many GOCCs failed to remit what should be remitted to the national coffers. Because of this, the Senate also aims to look into the dividends that other GOCCs remit to the national government that could help narrow the budget deficit, according to Drilon. "The projected deficit is P325 billion... This can be reduced depending on how much dividends would be remitted to the national government," he explained, saying that the collection of dividends is a non-tax measure that can raise revenues. Drilon said that the finance committee also planned to summon GOCC executives who reportedly received excessive bonuses, allowances, and take home pays. He said that in 2009 alone the total allowances and salaries of BSP officials amounted to more than P102 million. "Given this substantial allowances that they have received from the BSP, it is fair for us to ask whether they have remitted the dividends," he said. —JE/VS, GMANews.TV