PNOC remits P14.3-B to NG in 8 years

State-owned Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) said yesterday that it had remitted a total of P14.3 billion to the National Government over the last eight years.

PNOC president Thelmo Y. Cunanan said this is a clean proof that the oil firm is still one of the most profitable corporations owned and controlled by the government.

"We have been performing well for the past eight years or from the period from 1996 to 2002," Cunanan said.

He said PNOC has been remitting an average of P1.78 billion a year to NG.

"This includes the P10 billion that was used by the National Government in 1996 for the Oil Price Stabilization Fund," he added.

The government also received P3.6 billion from PNOC’s operations including a 50-percent share on Petron’s cash dividend. Aside from this, the NG received a total of P687.8 million in dividends from PNOC subsidiaries.

Cunanan said "Republic Act 7656 mandates all government-owned and controlled corporations, PNOC’s subsidiaries included, to remit 50 percent of declared cash dividends to the National Government."

For this year, PNOC is expected to remit some P560.5 million worth of cash dividends to the government. Cunanan said the amount will come from two sources: P279.3 million representing NG’s 50-percent share from PNOC’s operations and P281.25 million representing 50-percent share on Petron Corp.’s cash dividend to PNOC.

"We have remitted P280 million last month. We will remit another P280 million by the end of July this year. The total of these represent our commitment to the government of P560 million," Cunanan said.

"PNOC and its subsidiaries are and have always been profitable. We have a lot of projects lined up and we intend to perform even better in the future," he added.

PNOC owns 40 percent of Petron, the country’s largest oil refiner. The remaining 40 percent is owned by Saudi Arabian Oil Co. and the 10 percent by the public. Petron, which is the only publicly-listed oil company in the Philippine stock market, registered a net income of P2.9 billion in 2002.

Aside from Petron, subsidiaries of PNOC include: the PNOC Energy Development Corp., PNOC Exploration Corp., PNOC Petrochemical Development Corp., PNOC Shipping and Transport Corp., and the Filoil Development and Management Corp.