Subsidies to GOCCs down 12 percent in August

MANILA, Philippines — With a significant portion of subsidies allocated to the government’s irrigation projects, the funds granted by the Marcos administration to government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) decreased by over P1 billion in August.

According to the latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), subsidies fell by 12 percent to P8.02 billion in August, from P9.1 billion in the same period last year.

The administration’s subsidies for major non-financial government corporations dipped by 25 percent to P4.53 billion from last year’s P6.03 billion.

About three-quarters of the P4.53 billion were allocated to the National Irrigation Administration, which received the bulk of P3.42 billion. This was followed by the National Food Authority with P750 million and the National Electrification Administration with P200 million.

Railway administrations such as the Light Rail Transit Authority and the Philippine National Railways received P74 million and P31 million, respectively. The National Power Corp. received P30 million for August, while the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System received P14 million.

No subsidies were given to the National Housing Authority during the period.

Meanwhile, subsidies for other government corporations increased by over three times, settling at P3.49 billion from P1.08 billion recorded in the same period last year. This represents an additional P2.41 billion in government support for August this year. 

The Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. received the majority of the funding, amounting to P2.03 billion, followed by the state broadcaster, Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp. (IBC-13), with P337 million.

On Oct. 3, President Marcos signed into law the measure renewing the franchise of state-run IBC-13 for another 25 years. The renewed franchise grants the network continued authority to operate unless it is earlier revoked or cancelled by the government.

The government extends subsidies to GOCCs to cover operational expenses that their own revenues fall short of financing, ensuring uninterrupted service delivery and supporting activities that go beyond their self-generated income.

From January to August, the total subsidies declined by 19.3 percent to P70.25 billion. This indicates that the national government reduced its financial support to state-run firms by nearly P17 billion compared to last year’s P87.02 billion.