GOCC subsidies up 55% to P71.9B

SUBSIDIES given away by the national government to state-run firms during the first seven months jumped 55 percent to P71.9 billion from P46.3 billion a year ago, the latest Bureau of the Treasury data showed.

In July alone, subsidies to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) climbed to P35.3 billion compared with only P2.3 billion in the same month last year.

During the January-to-July period, major nonfinancial government corporations received P26.1 billion other government corporations were granted P45 billion and government financial institutions got P750 million.

As of end-July, the recipient of the biggest amount of subsidies was the tax-exempt Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) with P35.3 billion or almost half of the total, of which P33.8 billion it received in the month of July.

PhilHealth administers the National Health Insurance Program. The latest data on its website showed that as of end-2015, PhilHealth had 40.5 million members having 52.9 million dependents, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 93.4 million, or about 92 percent of the population.

The other GOCCs that were given subsidies during the first seven months included the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (P40 million), Bases Conversion and Development Authority (P401 million), Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (P12 million), Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (P113 million), Credit Information Corp. (P21 million), Cultural Center of the Philippines (P115 million), Development Academy of the Philippines (P143 million), Light Rail Transit Authority (P106 million), Lung Center of the Philippines (P99 million), National Dairy Authority (P85 million), National Electrification Administration (P1.01 billion), National Food Authority (P4.25 billion), National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (P750 million), National Housing Authority (P10.63 billion), National Irrigation Administration (P8.82 billion), National Kidney and Transplant Institute (P193 million) and National Power Corp. (P536 million).

Also recipients of national government subsidies were People’s Television Network Inc. (P175 million), Philippine Center for Economic Development (P3 million), Philippine Children’s Medical Center (P755 million), Philippine Coconut Authority (P1.25 billion), Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (P646 million), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (P1.48 billion), Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (P67 million), Philippine Heart Center (P294 million), Philippine Institute for Development Studies (P36 million), Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (P14 million), Philippine Rice Research Institute (P129 million), Philippine National Railways (P705 million) and Philippine Postal Corp. (P301 million).

During the first seven months, Social Housing Finance Corp. got P1.67 million in subsidies; Social Security System, P64 million; Southern Philippines Development Authority, P27 million; Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, P1.61 billion, and Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority, P31 million.

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. Ben O. de Vera