President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today received a ceremonial check of P2.5 billion representing DBP (Development Bank of the Philippines) dividend payment to the national government for 2009.

Patricia Sto. Tomas and Reynaldo David, chairperson and president, respectively, of the state-owned bank presented the check to the President and Finance Secretary Margarito Teves during the bank’s 63rd anniversary celebration held at the DBP Head Office in Makati.

With the amount, the total dividend received by the national government out of DBP operation from 2001 to 2009 now stands at P11.4 billion.

According to David, 2009 was a banner year for the bank. It posted a net income of P6.09 billion then, up from P3.6 billion the previous year. He said DBP owes this achievement to the President’s support.

The President was presented a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding between DBP and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), which puts in place an integrated assistance program for overseas Filipino workers .

Being prepared under this program are mini gas station dealerships and other livelihood projects for OFWs and their dependents.

At the celebration, the President unveiled a scale model of the new DBP Green Building soon to be constructed at the Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

The builders will utilize eco-friendly architectural designs, thus the name. It will use solar power, for instance, for its energy requirements.

Also, President Arroyo was shown the gold trowel her father, the late President Diosdado Macpagal, used to lay the cornerstone of the present DBP building 46 years ago. She intends to use the same trowel to launch construction of the DBP’s future building.

The anniversary celebration highlighted the bank’s contributions to the Ten-Point Agenda of the Arroyo administration, particularly in four major areas---infrastructure and logistics; schools and hospitals; micro, small and medium entrepreneurship; and the environmental.

The bank traces its history to 1947 when it was established as the Rehabilitation Finance Corporation tasked to provide credit for the development of agriculture, commerce and industry, and the reconstruction of properties damaged by the war.

In 1958, RFC was renamed DBP and reorganized to take on activities designed to accelerate national development.