PDIC remits P7.1B to Treasury to boost COVID-19 vaccination rollout

The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) has remitted P7.1 billion in dividend contributions to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), to partly finance the government's vaccination program aimed at inoculating 70 million Filipinos against COVID-19 this year.

In an emailed statement, the Department of Finance (DOF) said the dividends include P4.9 billion declared by the PDIC on February 8, and another P2.2 billion on March 24.

Under its charter, the PDIC is mandated to remit at least 50% of its income and to the national government as dividends. The declaration is based on the other sources of PDIC's income, particularly from interest income from investments.

"The dividend remittance by PDIC will be a substantial contribution to the financing of the health and economic recovery measures of the Government, while upholding the policy of the government to maintain and preserve confidence in the banking system," said Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III.

The government has allocated P82.5 billion for its state vaccination program—P70 billion from loans, P10 billion from the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, and P2.5 billion from the 2021 Department of Health (DOH) budget.

The Philippines is the last country in the ASEAN region to start its vaccination program against COVID-19 after legal vaccines were first injected into the public on March 1.

Vaccines were given to members of the military last year, specifically to the Presidential Security Group, as confirmed by President Rodrigo Duterte himself. The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has maintained that as the shipments were absent of  an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food And Drug Administration, they were therefore smuggled. — BM, GMA News