NIA cornered over a third of GOCC subsidies in first half

Subsidies to state-run firms jumped by almost three-fifths to P58.219 billion in the first half of the year with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) continuing to receive the biggest share, the latest Bureau of the Treasury data showed.

The total subsidy distributed to government-owned and/or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) from January to June grew 59 percent from P36.597 billion in the same six-month period last year.

The NIA, which is responsible for irrigation development and management, received P20.091 billion in subsidies during the first half, cornering over one-third of the end-June amount and the largest across GOCCs to date.

In 2016, the NIA was the second biggest recipient of GOCC subsidies amounting P16.909 billion, surpassed only by Philippine Health Insurance Corp.’s (PhilHealth) P43.776 billion.

To recall, President Duterte during his campaign promised free irrigation for farmers.

The NIA was hence allotted a higher P38.4 billion under the 2017 national budget to not only provide free irrigation but also build new irrigation systems as well as rehabilitate and restore existing facilities.

An additional allocation of P2 billion was intended as irrigation fee subsidy in lieu of the collection of irrigation service fees.

The NIA had been collecting P1.8 to P2 billion in irrigation service fees annually, according to reports.

As of end-June, major non-financial government corporations accounted for the bulk or P38.245 billion of the six-month subsidies; other government corporations, P19.641 billion; and government financial institutions, P333 million.

The Governance Commission for GOCCs had said that up to 90 percent of the subsidies that state corporations receive were being spent on programs and projects, while the remainder covered operational expenses.

For 2017, the government had programmed P128.9 billion in subsidies to GOCCs.

Last year, the national government gave a record P103.2 billion in subsidies. CBB