GOCC subsidies up 0.7% in March

SUBSIDIES provided to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) rose 0.7% year on year in March, the Bureau of the Treasury reported.

Budgetary support to GOCCs increased to P10.795 billion from P10.717 billion a year earlier, the Treasury said. It also rose 14.8% from the P9.401 billion posted in February.

The government provides subsidies to GOCCs to help cover operational expenses not covered by their revenue.

The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) was the top recipient in March, receiving P5 billion or 46.3% of all subsidies during the month.

This was followed by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), which was granted P3.395 billion.

The Small Business Corp. took in P650 million in March. It did not receive any subsidies in the preceding two months.

Other top recipients were the National Food Authority (P598 million), the National Dairy Authority (P221 million), the Philippine Heart Center (P147 million), the Philippine National Railways (P123 million), and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (P106 million).

GOCCs that received at least P50 million were the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (P97 million), the Philippine Coconut Authority (P94 million), the Lung Center of the Philippines (P71 million), and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (P54 million).

The National Power Corp. was the only major nonfinancial GOCC that received no subsidies during the month.

Other GOCCs that received no subsidies in March were the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and the Social Housing Finance Corp.

Subsidies amounted to P21.308 billion in the first three months, up 10.4% from a year earlier.

In the three months to March, the NIA received P10.184 billion or 47.8% of all subsidies during the period.

In 2022, government subsidies to GOCCs totaled P200.41 billion. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson