Subsidies to GOCC down 82% in May

MANILA, Philippines — The government continues to trim its budgetary support to state-run firms, cutting it down by 82 percent to P7.9 billion in May, according to the Bureau of the Treasury.

Data from the Treasury showed that subsidies to government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) declined for the second straight month in May from P44.69 billion a year ago.

For the five-month period, subsidies dipped by 60 percent to P32.3 billion from P79.94 billion in the same period in 2021.

Subsidies for major non-financial government corporations went up by 22 percent to P6.52 billion, while financing support for other government corporations plummeted by 96 percent to P1.39 billion.

For January to May, budgetary support for major non-financial government corporations reached P22.93 billion, while subsidies for other government corporations totaled P9.37 billion.

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

For the month of May, 79 percent of the total subsidies went to the National Irrigation Administration at P6.26 billion, almost doubled from last year’s P3.31 billion.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines secured the second highest subsidy at P400 million, while the Small Business Corp. came in third with P200 million.

Other top recipients during the month also include the Philippine National Railways with P161 million, Philippine Heart Center with P147 million, and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center with P115 million.

Notably, the National Food Authority, which got the biggest budgetary support in April, did not get any subsidy in May.

Other GOCCs that did not receive any subsidy during the month include the National Housing Authority, National Privacy Commission, Bases Conversion and Development Authority, Philippine Crop Insurance Corp., Philippine Fisheries Development Authority, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Social Housing Finance Corp. and the Sugar Regulatory Administration.

During the month, government expenditures slightly went down by a percentage to P451.7 billion, even as revenues improved by 19 percent to P304.92 billion.

The government in May returned to a deficit of P146.79 billion, albeit lower than the May 2021 shortfall of P200.31 billion.

Subsidies for GOCCs dipped almost 20 percent to P185 billion last year after the government slowly removed budgetary support for state-run firms as the economy reopens from the pandemic.