Government slashes subsidies 70 percent to P10.7 billion in July

September 9, 2024 | 12:00am

Agriculture sector still gets bulk

MANILA, Philippines — The government slashed its budgetary support to state-run firms by almost 70 percent to just P10.7 billion in July, with the bulk of the subsidies going to the agriculture sector for various irrigation projects.

Data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed subsidies to government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) in July slipped by 67.8 percent to P10.72 billion from P33.24 billion in the same period last year.

During the month, budgetary support for major non-financial government corporations reached P6.85 billion, down by 16 percent.

On the other hand, subsidies for other government corporations plummeted by 85 percent to P3.85 billion from P25.12 billion a year ago.

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

For July, a little over 60 percent of the total subsidies went to the National Irrigation Administration at P6.76 billion.

This is a 70-percent jump from the P3.99 billion it received in the same period last year.

Same time last year, it was the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) that got the biggest subsidy at P22.65 billion.

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority secured the second highest subsidy at P2.23 billion, while the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority came in third with P357 million.

During the month, no subsidy was released to PhilHealth, Local Water Utilities Administration, National Electrification Administration, National Housing Authority, National Food Authority, National Power Corp., Philippine Postal Corp., Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., Sugar Regulatory Administration and Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority.

For the seven-month period, subsidies declined by 20 percent to P77.93 billion from P96.93 billion a year ago.

For January to July, budgetary support for major non-financial government corporations reached P53.4 billion, up by 43 percent, while subsidies for other government corporations dropped by 63 percent to P21.72 billion.

In July, the government remained in a deficit at P28.8 billion, although at a slower pace, after the increase in revenue collection outpaced the growth of state expenditures.

Total revenue collections improved by 11 percent to P457.4 billion as tax revenues increased while government spending rose by just 5.8 percent to P486.2 billion.