GOCC subsidies hit P136.7 B in 2018

MANILA, Philippines — The national government has granted P136.65 billion in subsidies to state corporations in 2018, bulk of which went to national health programs, according to data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

Based on the latest cash operations report (COR) released by the BTr, subsidies to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) last year rose 4.2 percent to P136.65 billion from P131.08 billion in 2017.

This is, however, lower than the P162.55 billion subsidies programmed for the whole year.

For the month of December, alone, GOCC subsidies declined significantly to P2.18 billion, as compared to the P31.23 billion recorded in the same month in 2017.

The national government provides subsidies to state firms to cover their funds for programs and projects, as well as operational expenses.

According to BTr data, 47 state-owned and -run corporations received subsidies from the national government last year.  

The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) was given the highest amount of subsidies reaching P52.95 billion, in support of the state firm’s thrust to increase its health insurance coverage for the benefit of indigent families in the country.

This accounted for 38.7 percent of the total subsidies released for the whole year.

PhilHealth was followed by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), which received P28.42 billion for the implemention of irrigation projects all over the country, as well as providing free irrigation to small farmers.

The national government also extended P25.62 billion in budgetary support to the Land Bank of the Philippines, which is beefing up its financial position in compliance with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ capital adequacy ratio and Basel III leverage ratio requirements. 

The National Food Authority (NFA) was also provided with P7 billion in subsidies, while the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority received P2.27 billion and P2.02 billion, respectively.

Other GOCCs which were given assistance last year include the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (P1.57 billion), National Development Co. (P1.49 billion), Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (P1.48 billion), Philippine Coconut Authority (P1.37 billion), Development Bank of the Philippines (P1.13 billion), Small Business Corp. (P1.06 billion), and Philippines Children’s Medical Center (P1 billion).

The remaining 34 GOCCs were granted subsidies amounting to less than P1 billion each.

Subsidies to GOCCs form part of the national government’s expenditures. 
In 2018, government disbursements reached P3.408 trillion, 20.8 percent up from P2.82 trillion in the previous year. This was also one percent above the P3.37 trillion spending program of the government during the period.  

According to the BTr, the full-year expenditure figure is equivalent to 19.6 percent of the country’s GDP, an improvement from the 17.9 percent expenditure-to-GDP ratio in 2017, and above the 19.3 percent target.