Subsidies to GOCCs down 11.2% to P43.97B in H1

STATE-RUN corporations received P34.947 billion in subsidies last June, the highest amount in a year, although the first half total slid by 11.2 percent year-on-year to P43.970 billion, the latest Treasury data showed.

In June, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) was given the bulk or P32.585 billion of subsidy support from the national government.

PhilHealth, a tax-exempt government-owned and/or -controlled corporation (GOCC), administers the National Health Insurance Program aimed at providing all Filipinos health insurance coverage as well as affordable and accessible health care services, its website said.

Other GOCCs granted subsidies last June were Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (P10 million), Development Academy of the Philippines (P55 million), Local Waterworks and Utilities Administration (P272 million), National Dairy Authority (P34 million), National Development Co. (P1.589 billion), National Irrigation Administration or NIA (P142 million), Philippine Children’s Medical Center (P87 million), Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (P2 million), Philippine Heart Center (P64 million), Philippine Institute for Development Studies (P37 million), Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (P21 million), Philippine National Railways (P20 million), People’s Television Network Inc. (P25 million), and Southern Philippines Development Authority (P4 million).

The end-June subsidies given away to GOCCs were nonetheless lower than the P49.540 billion during the first half of last year.

The subsidies distributed in June 2014 were also a higher P46.323 billion.

In most cases, the national government subsidy covers GOCCs’ operational expenses that are not supported by corporate revenues.

Subsidies may also be spent on specific programs and projects.

The government plans to ramp up budgetary support to state-run firms next year, as the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing document for fiscal year 2016 showed that the proposed allotment for GOCCs would increase to P127.1 billion, from the projected P74 billion this year and the P80.3 billion released in 2014.

Budgetary support for GOCCs comes in the form of subsidy, equity and net lending, net of tax subsidy and loans outlay, gross of special accounts.

Of the proposed 2016 amount, P96.1 billion would be subsidies, P31 billion would be equity, and P26.5 million would be net lending.

The subsidies to be given away next year would exceed the P78.9 billion released in 2014 and P72.1 billion for release this year.

Poised to receive the biggest subsidy in 2016 is NIA with P32.7 billion, followed by the National Housing Authority’s (NHA) P30.5 billion.

The proposed subsidies to these two agencies combined would already comprise two-thirds of the total.