SUBSIDIES given to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) rose 7.34% in the first half of the year, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said.
Total subsidies the national government remitted to state-run firms hit P62.49 billion in the six months to June, equivalent to 33.08% of the P188.93-billion subsidy target for 2018.
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) captured the largest share of subsidies in the first half at P16.58 billion, or about a quarter of the total.
This was followed by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), which obtained P15.21 billion and Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK), which received P12.33 billion.
The Local Water Utilities Administration was the sole GOCC that did not require subsidies during the period.
Also receiving subsidies that period were the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority at P3 million, Cagayan Special Economic Zone at P6 million, and the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. at P11 million.
Subsidies cover operational expenses that are not supported by the GOCCs’ respective corporate revenue or to fund specific projects or programs.
In June, subsidies fell 69.92% year on year to P9.72 billion but were significantly higher than the P3.83 billion in May.
In June the National Food Authority received the largest share of subsidies with P5.2 billion, followed by P3 billion for NIA. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
