SUBSIDIES granted to state corporations declined in January, with the bulk of the subsidies going to the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), the Bureau of the Treasury said.
According to the Treasury’s cash operations report, overall subsidies remitted by the national government to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCC) hit P795 million, down 13.8% from a year earlier.
The government grants subsidies to state firms to cover operational expenses that are not supported by their respective revenues.
In January, more than half or 54.72% of the total budgetary support went to NIA, which received subsidies amounting to P435 million.
This was followed by state hospitals Philippine Heart Center, Philippine Children’s Medical Center and National Kidney Transplant Institute, receiving P74 million, P67 million and P50 million, respectively.
Of the 18 GOCCs which received state support in January, Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority, Southern Philippines Development Authority as well as the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority received the lowest subsidies of P4 million each.
On the other hand, state financial institutions National Home Mortgage Finance Corp., Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines did not receive any budgetary assistance from the government during the month.
This year, the national government expects to provide P187.1 billion worth of budgetary support to GOCCs, up 20.5% from its cash-based equivalent in 2018. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal
