GOCC subsidies quadrupled in September
Subsidies given by the national government to state-run firms in September jumped 328 percent to P3.119 billion from P729 million a year ago, the latest Bureau of the Treasury data showed.
Last September, major non-financial government corporations received a total of P1.568 billion, while other government corporations were granted P1.551 billion.
Still, the subsidies to government-owned and/or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) were less than half of August’s P7.402 billion.
The recipient of the largest amount of subsidies last September was the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), with P1.156 billion or over a third of the total. On its website, NIA said it is the GOCC mainly responsible for irrigation development and management in the country.
From January to September, NIA got P12.695 billion in subsidies, only exceeded by Philippine Health Insurance Corp.’s (PhilHealth) P35.268 billion during the nine-month period.
PhilHealth administers the National Health Insurance Program. The latest data on its website showed that during the first half of 2016, PhilHealth had 40.6 million members with 52 million dependents, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 92.6 million, or about 90 percent of the population.
At the end of the first nine months, the government released P82.376 billion in subsidies, up from P55.819 billion as of end-September last year.
The Governance Commission for GOCCs had said that up to 90 percent of the subsidies that GOCCs receive were being spent on programs and projects, while the remainder covered operational expenses.
This year, GOCC subsidies were poised to hit P96.1 billion. Last year, subsidies provided to state-run firms dropped 3 percent to P78.013 billion from P80.44 billion in 2014, the largest annual amount to date.
Among major non-financial government corporations, other recipients of the subsidies in September were National Power Corp. (P410 million) and Philippine National Railways (P2 million).
Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority received P10 million; Bases Conversion and Development Authority, P71 million; Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, P47 million; Cultural Center of the Philippines, P58 million; Development Academy of the Philippines, P85 million; and Lung Center of the Philippines, P17 million.
National Dairy Authority got P80 million; National Kidney and Transplant Institute, P36 million; Philippine Center for Economic Development, P3 million; Philippine Children’s Medical Center, P124 million.
