GOCC subsidies slump over 30 percent in July

MANILA, Philippines — Government subsidies to state-owned corporations fell by 30.5 percent in July, largely reflecting lower support for the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA).

The Bureau of the Treasury showed subsidies to government-owned and-controlled corporations (GOCCs) totaled P6.76 billion in July, down from P9.74 billion a year earlier.

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

The decline was partly due to the non-recurrence of the P4.43 billion subsidy extended to the PRA in July 2025.

The NIA still received the largest subsidy among GOCCs during the month at P2.23 billion, although this was 33.8 percent lower than the P3.38 billion it received last year.

The Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. followed with P880 million in subsidies in July from zero last year.

The National Dairy Authority came in third with P564 million in July, a large increase from P28 million it received in July 2025.

Among the top subsidy recipients during the month were the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority, National Food Authority, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Philippine Heart Center, Philippine Coconut Authority, Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp. or IBC-13, Philippine National Railways, Philippine Children’s Medical Center and National Kidney and Transplant Institute.

The Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority received P4 million, the smallest subsidy during the month.

By categories, subsidies for other government corporations declined by 29.7 percent year-on-year to P3.86 billion in July, accounting for 57 percent of the total subsidies during the month.

Budgetary support for major non-financial government corporations also went down by 31.5 percent to P2.91 billion during the period.

From January to July, total subsidies surged by 95 percent to P121.34 billion from P62.23 billion in the same period in 2025, driven by the P60 billion injected to restore the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. fund.