GOCC subsidies drop in August

BUDGETARY support for state-owned corporations fell sharply in August, the Bureau of the Treasury said.

Subsidies provided to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) dropped 51.93% year on year to P9.1 billion.

Month on month, GOCC subsidies fell 15.1% from P10.72 billion in July.

State-owned firms receive monthly subsidies from the government to support their daily operations if revenue is insufficient.

The National Irrigation Authority (NIA) received the top allocation at P5.6 billion, taking up 61.54% of all subsidies.

This was followed by the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) with P1.9 billion and the Local Water Utilities Administration with P287 million. Both firms did not receive subsidies in the previous month.

State-owned firms that received at least P100 million in subsidies include the Philippine Heart Center with P177 million, the Philippine Children’s Medical Center P154 million, the National Kidney and Transplant Institute P133 million, the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority P111 million, and the Philippine Coconut Authority P100 million.

Firms that obtained at least P50 million in subsidies were the Social Housing Finance Corp. (P82 million), the Cultural Center of the Philippines (P80 million), the Light Rail Transit Authority (P72 million), the Lung Center of the Philippines (P70 million), the Development Academy of the Philippines (P64 million), and the National Housing Authority (P50 million).

At least P20 million in subsidies were given to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (P38 million), the National Dairy Authority (P30 million), the Philippine Institute for Development Studies or PIDS (P21 million), and the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (P20 million).

In August, no subsidies were given to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp., the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp., the Small Business Corp., the National Power Corp., and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

Also receiving zero subsidies were the National Electrification Administration, the National Food Authority (NFA), the Philippine Postal Corp., the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, the Sugar Regulatory Authority, and the Tourism Promotions Board.

As of the end of August, GOCC subsidies dropped 24.89% year on year to P87.03 billion.

During the eight-month period, the NIA received the most subsidies at P48.89 billion, followed by PSALM (P8 billion), NHA (P3.8 billion), PCIC (P2.8 billion), and the NFA (P2.25 billion).

In August, subsidies fell after the government pursued fiscal consolidation, PIDS senior research fellow John Paolo R. Rivera said.

“The decline in subsidies is a continuation of the effects of declining availability of government funds due to the high utilization of funds for infrastructure spending, social protection programs, calamity response, and debt servicing,” he said via Viber. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz