January 8, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The government jacked up its budgetary support to state-run firms by 81.6 percent to P12.23 billion in November last year, with the bulk going to the irrigation sector, according to the Bureau of the Treasury.
Data from the Treasury showed that subsidies to government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) in November soared from P6.73 billion in the same month in 2023.
During the month, budgetary support for major non-financial government corporations reached P11.09 billion, more than double from P4.61 billion a year ago. But subsidies for other government corporations fell by 52.4 percent to P1.01 billion from P2.13 billion.
The government grants subsidies to GOCCs to cover operational expenses that are not supported by their own revenues.
For November, more than half or 55.9 percent of total subsidies went to the National Irrigation Administration at P6.84 billion. This is almost three times higher than the P2.52 billion it received in the same month in 2023.
The National Food Authority secured the second highest subsidy at P3 billion, while the National Electrification Administration came in third with P900 million.
Other top recipients during the month include the National Power Corp. with P248 million and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center with P211 million.
During the month, GOCCs that did not get any subsidy are the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, National Home Mortgage Finance Corp., Philippine Crop Insurance Corp., Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp., Small Business Corp. and the National Housing Authority.
Other GOCCs that got zero subsidies include the Philippine National Railways, Bases Conversion and Development Authority, Philippine Fisheries Development Authority and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.
For the 11-month period, subsidies slipped by 15.4 percent to P129.44 billion from P153.05 billion a year ago.
From January to November, budgetary support for major non-financial government corporations rose by 23.9 percent to P88.15 billion. However, subsidies for other government corporations dropped by 56.1 percent to P35.72 billion.
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