Subsidies triple to P785M

THE SUBSIDIES given away to state-run corporations more than tripled year-on-year to P785 million last April, with almost two-thirds of the amount allocated to the agency financing social housing programs.

The latest Bureau of the Treasury data showed that subsidies to government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) in April rose 210.3 percent from P253 million during the same month last year.

In most cases, the national government subsidy covers GOCCs’ operational expenses that are not being supported by corporate revenues. Subsidies may also be spent on specific programs and projects. Besides the grant of subsidies, the government also extends financial support to GOCCs through equity and loans.

Last April, Social Housing Finance Corp. (SHFC) was the recipient of the biggest government subsidy at P513 million.

According to information obtained from SHFC, it targets to assist 24,254 informal settler families through its community mortgage program as well as high density housing this year.

In 2014, SHFC was granted P799 million in subsidies. SHFC earlier said it assisted 21,811 informal settler families last year, higher than its goal of 20,400.

The other GOCCs that received subsidies in April were Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (Ceza), P1 million; National Irrigation Administration (NIA), P49 million; National Power Corp. (Napocor), P151 million; Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), P9 million; Philippine National Railways (PNR), P30 million, and Social Security System (SSS), P32 million.

At the end of April, the total subsidies worth P4.48 billion were 202.5-percent higher than the P1.48 billion in the first four months of 2014.