THE Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) will take up the most government subsidies next year at P57.13 billion, equivalent to almost a third of the total.
According to the Department of Budget and Management’s Budget Expenditures and Sources of Financing table, subsidies to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) will total P188.93 billion in 2018.
The projected 2018 total is 24.12% larger than the P152.22 billion programmed this year.
Of that amount, P57.13 billion will be remitted to PhilHealth, which accounts for 30.24% of the total subsidies that year.
This is followed by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) at P40.87 billion, and P25.62 billion for the state lender Land Bank of the Philippines.
GOCCs due to receive the least subsidies next year are the Philippine Center for Economic Development at P35.93 million, Southern Philippines Development Authority at P47.99 million, and the Credit Information Corp. at P53.92 million.
As of the first half, subsidies for state-run firms are at P58.22 billion, up 59.08% from the P36.6 billion posted in the first six months last year.
As of the first half, NIA took up the most subsidies among GOCCs at P20.09 billion, which represented about 34.51% of the total.
During his campaign, President Rodrigo R. Duterte promised free irrigation for farmers.
NIA was followed by the National Housing Authority at P12 billion, then the PhilHealth at P9.27 billion, and the National Food Authority at P5.1 billion.
The lowest totals were received by the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority and the People’s Television Network, Inc. at P12 billion and P13 billion, respectively. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
