Subsidies to GOCCs drop in August

MANILA, Philippines — The government slashed its budgetary support to state-run firms by more than 60 percent to P15.5 billion in August, with the bulk going to the health sector, according to the Bureau of the Treasury.

Data from the Treasury showed that subsidies to government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) in August dropped by 63.3 percent to P15.54 billion from P42.35 billion in the same period last year.

During the month, budgetary support for major non-financial government corporations reached P3.04 billion, down 70 percent, while subsidies for other government corporations plummeted by 62 percent to P12.39 billion.

The government grants subsidies to GOCCs as a way to cover operational expenses that are not supported by their own revenues.

For August, the biggest or 72 percent of the total subsidies went to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. at P11.23 billion.

This was a decline from the P30.61 billion in subsidies that Philhealth received in August of last year.

The National Irrigation Administration secured the second highest subsidy at P2.54 billion while the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority came in third with P291 million.

Other top recipients during the month also include the National Food Authority with P219 million, Philippine Children’s Medical Center with P164 million, and National Power Corp. and Philippine Heart Center with P147 million each.

During the month, GOCCs that did not get any subsidy include the Local Water Utilities Administration, National Electrification Administration, National Housing Authority, Bases Conversion and Development Authority, and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

Also included are the National Tobacco Administration, Philippine Crop Insurance Corp., Small Business Corp., Social Housing Finance Corp., and Sugar Regulatory Administration.

For the eight-month period, subsidies went down 33.73 percent to P90.6 billion from P136.71 billion a year ago.

For January to August, budgetary support for major non-financial government corporations reached P42.44 billion, down 10.43 percent, while subsidies for other government corporations plummeted 46 percent to P47.85 billion.

In August, government expenditures went up by over six percent to P404.5 billion while revenues improved 28 percent to P332.4 billion.

The government managed to narrow its deficit by 40.43 percent to P72 billion during the month.

Subsidies for GOCCs dipped almost 20 percent to P185 billion last year after the government slowly removed budgetary support for state-run firms as the economy reopens from the pandemic.