GOCC subsidies decline 23.4% in Jan.

SUBSIDIES granted to state-run firms declined to P3.357 billion in January, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said, led by lower subsidies to major nonfinancial institutions.

In a report, BTr said subsidies issued to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) were 23.4% lower year on year.

Some P1.634 billion of the subsidies, or 48.6%, went to major non-financial government corporations, down 52.3% from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, other government corporations received P1.348 billion, and government financial institutions received P375 million.

In January, the National Food Authority received the top subsidy of P1.133 billion, followed by the National Irrigation Administration, which got P414 million.

Other GOCCs that received at least P100 million were the Small Business Corp. (P375 million), the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (P240 million), the Philippine Heart Center (P202 million), the Philippine Rice Research Institute (P132 million), the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (P128 million), and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (P126 million).

GOCCs that received P50-P100 million in subsidies were the Philippine Postal Corp. (P83 million), the Philippine Coconut Authority (P80 million), the Lung Center of the Philippines (P77 million), the Light Rail Transit Authority (P70 million), and the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (P59 million).

The National Dairy Authority (P44 million), the Development Academy of the Philippines (P41 million), the Cultural Center of the Philippines (P34 million), the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (P31 million), the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (P17 million), and Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp. (P15 million) received at least P15 million.

The People’s Television Network, Inc. received P11 million, while the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority and the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care received P10 million each.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Center for Economic Development (P9 million), the Southern Philippines Development Authority (P7 million), the Philippine Tax Academy (P5 million), and the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority (P4 million) received less than P10 million in subsidies.

The government provides subsidies to GOCCs to help cover operational expenses not supported by revenue. — Justine Irish D. Tabile