State-run firms get lower subsidies in February

MANILA, Philippines — Government subsidies to state-run firms fell by 30 percent year-on-year to P5.33 billion in February, where nearly half of the total went to the National Irrigation Authority (NIA), according to Bureau of the Treasury data.

Support for government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) declined from P7.57 billion in the same month last year, the BTr said.

The government grants subsidies to GOCCs to cover operational expenses not supported by their own revenues.

In February, the budgetary support for major non-financial government corporations increased by 23.8 percent to P4.01 billion. It covered 75.3 percent of the entire subsidies.

Meanwhile, subsidies for other government corporations plunged by 69.1 percent to P1.32 billion. Financial institutions did not receive support.

For this month, 45.95 percent of total subsidies went to the NIA, amounting to P2.45 billion. This was followed by the National Food Authority, which had the second-highest subsidy support at P1.48 billion.

Other top subsidy beneficiaries include the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp., the Philippine Heart Center, the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, the National Kidney and Transplant Institute and the Philippine Coconut Authority.

Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority received the smallest support at P4 million.

For the first two months of 2026, subsidies amounted to P8.69 billion, 27.3 percent lower than P11.96 billion in the same period in 2025.

Meanwhile, the Land Bank of the Philippines clarified that the P6.78 million it received in 2025 was not an operational subsidy, but a fund to cover the requirement for the payment of landowners’ compensation under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

Under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, the bank is mandated to serve as the financial intermediary for land acquisition and compensation, and the amount cited was solely intended to support this statutory function.