SUBSIDIES PROVIDED to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) dropped by an annual 14% in September, in response to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).
The newest data from the Treasury showed that budgetary support to GOCCs declined by 14.33% to P18.22 billion in September from P21.26 billion in the identical month a yr ago.
Month on month, GOCC subsidies doubled (100.19%) from P9.1 billion in August.
State-owned firms receive monthly subsidies from the National Government (NG) to support their every day operations if their revenue is insufficient.
In September, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) received the largest amount of subsidies at P9.34 billion, accounting for 51.27% of the entire.
This was the second time PhilHealth received subsidies this yr, after the P260 million it got in June.
The National Irrigation Authority (NIA) received the second-biggest amount of presidency subsidies for the month at P5.5 billion, followed by the National Electrification Administration at P1.01 billion.
Several GOCCs received at the very least P200 million in subsidies, including the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (P353 million), Philippine Heart Center (P348 million), Social Housing Finance Corp. (P284 million), and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (P223 million).
No less than P100 million in subsidies got to the Philippine National Railways (P171 million), Philippine Children’s Medical Center (P151 million), National Power Corp. (144 million), and the Philippine Coconut Authority (P112 million).
State-owned corporations that received at the very least P50 million include the Cultural Center of the Philippines with P80 million, Light Rail Transit Authority with P72 million, Lung Center of the Philippines with P70 million, Development Academy of the Philippines with P64 million, and the Tourism Promotions Board with P54 million.
In September, no subsidies got to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, National Home Mortgage Finance Corp., Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp., Small Business Corp., and the National Housing Authority.
GOCCs that also received zero subsidies in the course of the month include the National Food Authority, Bases Conversion and Development Authority, Philippine Fisheries Development Authority, Philippine Postal Corp., Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), and the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority.
Within the January-September period, GOCC subsidies fell by 23.25% to P105.24 billion from P137.13 billion in the identical period last yr.
The NIA remained the highest recipient of subsidies within the nine-month period with P54.38 billion, followed by PhilHealth (P9.6 billion), and PSALM (P8 billion).
Rizal Business Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said that GOCCs received less subsidies in September “amid the necessity to raised manage/narrow the NG budget deficit through more disciplined government spending.”
As of end-September, the NG’s fiscal gap barely narrowed by 1.35% to P970.2 billion from P983.5 billion a yr ago.
“Subsidies decline for a bunch of reasons, likely attributable to: funding reallocation from subsidy to calamity response and recovery, social amelioration and protection programs; and the increased profits of GOCCs — warranting the NG to reallocate funds for other pressing matters like infrastructure spending, DRRM (disaster risk reduction and management) response, and social protection programs,” Philippine Institute for Development Studies Senior Research Fellow John Paolo R. Rivera said via Viber.
In the approaching months, the federal government must increase its subsidies to GOCCs which can be involved in education and nutrition, Mr. Ricafort said.
“GOCCs [that should receive higher subsidies] include those needed by the poorest of the poor, and people that might have the best impact in society reminiscent of healthcare, nutrition, even others related to education and boosting productivity,” he said in a Viber message. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
