23 GOCCs abolished

MANILA, Philippines - Twenty-three government owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) were shut down during the previous administration, helping make the financial performance of existing ones better.

In a report, the Governance Commission on GOCCs (GCG) said there were only 108 state corporations and financial institutions as of June this year, down from 158 in 2011.

Broken down, 23 GOCCs were abolished, while eight others were classified as “research institutions” and thus, were not regulated by GCG. Nineteen others were either combined, merged or rationalized.

“The long-term goal has been to bring this down to less than 90 GOCCs,” GCG director Johann Carlos Barcena said in the report.

For the remaining ones, GCG commissioner Ma. Angela Ignacio said “significant” improvements were noted in their financial performance.

“GOCCs have exhibited marked improvements in their operations resulting in higher incomes, improved efficiency, less reliance on subsidies and greater contribution to nation building through the remittance of higher dividends,” she said.

Of the 23 that were abolished, eight are agriculture agencies, namely National Agribusiness Corp., Philippine Agriculture Development and Construction Corp., Philippine Forest Corp., San Carlos Fruits Corp., Technology Resource Center, NIA Consult Inc., Philippine Fruits and Vegetables Industries Inc. and ZNAC Rubber Estates Corp.

There were also four financial institutions led by People’s Credit and Finance Corp., National Livelihood and Development Corp., Philippine Veterans Assistance Commission and Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corp.

Two trade firms, Cottage Industry Technology Center and HGC Subic Corp., were also abolished as well as five energy and utility companies, namely PNOC’s Alternative Fuels Corp., Development and Management Corp. and Shipping and Transport Corp., Tierra Factors Corp. and Traffic Control Products Corp.

Capping the list were four area development corporations, namely Alabang-Sto. Tomas Development Corp., Bataan Technology Park Inc., Disc Contractors, Builders and General Services Inc. and Human Settlements Development Corp.

According to Barcena, GOCCs were abolished either because their functions are “no longer relevant,” or are found “duplicate of unnecessarily overlap” that of other GOCCs.

The firm may also be dormant or are not producing the desired results by the government, he added.

Despite the lower number of GOCCs, Barcena said existing GOCCs had bigger assets and better financial performance compared in 2010.