‘GOCCs cut down losses, post higher income in 2022’

MANILA, Philippines — Government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) seem to be bouncing back from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic after they were able to significantly cut down losses and post higher income in 2022, the Commission on Audit (COA)’s latest report showed.

Based on the COA’s “2022 Annual Financial Report (AFR) for Government Corporations” uploaded on its website last Oct. 9, state-owned firms or commercial public sector entities (CPSEs), registered a total of P145.48 billion in “comprehensive loss” last year, lower by 78.96 percent from P691.76 billion comprehensive loss in 2021 and 56.4 percent from the P333.61 billion in 2020.

The 2022 AFR was based on the review of the financial statements of 154 state-owned firms or CPSEs. The “comprehensive loss” for 2022 was computed based on the CPSEs’ total losses of P206.26 billion less their total net income of P60.78 billion.

The COA noted that the CPSEs posted a total income of P1.73 trillion in 2022, but less the total expenses of P1.16 trillion, income tax expenses of P11.36 billion, net assistance, subsidy and contribution amounting P21.97 billion, as well as other contract liabilities amounting to P477.66 billion, resulting in net income decrease to P60.78 billion.

Still, the audit report showed the CPSEs’ P1.73-trillion total income in 2022 was higher than the P1.49 trillion posted in 2021 and P1.27 trillion in 2020.

Top 10 income earners

The report showed that the Social Security System posted the highest income in 2022 with P325.65 billion, representing 18.85 percent of the P1.73 trillion total income of the CPSEs.

Philippine Health Insurance Corp. came in second with P301.07 billion income, comprising 17.43 percent of the total. The Government Service Insurance System, which occupied the top spot in the 2021, fell to third place with P282.44 billion earnings or 16.35 percent of the total.

Other top earners in 2022 were the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (P235.78 billion), Land Bank of the Philippines (P115.6 billion), Home Development Mutual Fund (P69.12 billion), Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (P58.91 billion), Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (P57.8 billion), Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (P53 billion) and the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (P43.68 billion). The combined incomes of other remaining CPSEs, meanwhile, totaled P184.31 billion.

The COA said the CPSEs’ total income for 2022 included P1.42 trillion service and business income, P275.30 billion gains, P36.66 billion other non-operating income, and P310.5 million shares, donations and grants.

Expenses

Meanwhile, the financial report also showed that the CPSEs incurred a total of P1.16 trillion expenses in 2022, composed of P714.18 billion in maintenance and other operating expenses, P182.83 billion non-cash expenses, P125.3 billion in financial expenses, P117.145 billion in personnel services and P16.13 billion direct costs.

The COA’s separate top ten list, showed that the SSS also had the biggest expenses among the CPSEs with P273.35 billion, followed by GSIS with P207.33 billion and BSP with P172.06 billion.

Also included in the list of CPSEs with high expenses were PhilHealth (P152.79 billion), Landbank (P79.41 billion), PCSO (P45.87 billion), Development Bank of the Philippines (P36.65 billion), PDIC (P32.603 billion), Pag-IBIG (P30.05 billion) and water districts (P27.09 billion).

The other remaining CPSEs incurred combined expenses of P97.964 billion in 2022, the COA said.