Subsidies to state-run firms hit P 205.9B

Subsidies released to state-run corporations during the 10 months to October already exceeded the record-high 2019 total as the national government disbursed financial support to programs and projects to fight COVID-19’s health and economic fallout.

The latest Bureau of the Treasury data showed that subsidies to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) from January to October amounted to P205.9 billion, more than the P201.5 billion for the entire 2019.

The GOCCs that received the biggest subsidies during the 10-month period were the Social Security System, with P51 billion; the National Food Authority, P37.7 billion; Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), P30.4 billion, and the National Irrigation Administration , P29.2 billion.

The SSS disbursed the small business wage subsidy to workers of badly hit enterprises during the enhanced community quarantine from mid-March to May, which stopped 75 percent of the economy.

In a report last month, the Department of Budget and Management said that for PhilHealth and the government financial institution (GFI) Land Bank of the Philippines, “subsequent releases for the national health insurance program and the allotment for the unconditional cash transfer program are expected to be made in the next few months with the ongoing evaluation of the special budget requests for these programs.”

At the height of the most stringent COVID-19 lockdown in the region, the budgetary support to government corporations was slashed to P185.3 billion from the P195.9 billion originally programmed under the P4.1-trillion 2020 budget.

This budget cut under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act was realigned into programs, activities and projects addressing the health and socioeconomic crises inflicted by COVID-19.

According to the Governance Commission for GOCCs, about 90 percent of subsidies that state-run firms receive were spent on programs and projects, while the rest covered operational expenses. INQ