State-run firms got P1.27B in subsidies last January

Subsidies given away by the national government to state-run firms in January declined to P1.27 billion, with almost three-fifths received by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).

The subsidies to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) at the start of the year was 25-percent lower than the P1.7 billion granted in January last year, the latest Bureau of the Treasury data.

In January, major non-financial government corporations received P792 million while other government corporations got P474 million.

NIA was the recipient of the biggest amount—P745 million or 59 percent of the total. NIA is the GOCC mainly responsible for irrigation development and management in the country.

Last year, NIA was the second-largest recipient of GOCC subsidies totaling P16.91 billion, only exceeded by Philippine Health Insurance Corp.’s (PhilHealth) P43.78 billion.

Also among the top five recipients of national government subsidies last January were state-run pension fund Social Security System (P194 million), Philippine Children’s Medical Center (P62 million), Philippine National Railways (P43 million) and Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (P35 million).

The Governance Commission for GOCCs had said that up to 90 percent of the subsidies that state corporations received were being spent on programs and projects while the remainder covered operational expenses. —BEN O. DE VERA