Government subsidies to GOCCs fall 33 percent in September

MANILA, Philippines — Government subsidies to state-run corporations declined by 33.4 percent in September from a year earlier, with the irrigation agency taking the biggest slice of the P6.13-billion allocation, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.

According to the Treasury’s latest cash operations report, subsidies to government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) fell to P6.13 billion in September from P9.2 billion in the same month last year.

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) received the largest allocation at P2.32 billion, accounting for 37.8 percent of the total subsidies released during the month.

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

Despite the monthly decline, total subsidies to state-run firms surged 149 percent to P197.92 billion in the first nine months from P79.45 billion in the same period last year.

The increase was largely driven by P118.56 billion in subsidies for Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), compared with just P27 million a year earlier.

Of the amount, P60 billion was recorded in April as a returned fund balance from unutilized subsidies remitted to the Treasury in 2024 following a Supreme Court ruling.  Another P58.56 billion was recorded in August.

NIA secured the second largest allocation in the nine-month period at P15.79 billion, down 43.1 percent from P27.76 billion a year earlier.

The National Food Authority followed with P10.29 billion, while Food Terminal Inc. received P10 billion.