SUBSIDIES provided to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) fell by 36.3% in March, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said.
Data from the BTr showed that budgetary support to GOCCs declined to P6.872 billion in March from P10.795 billion a year earlier.
Month on month, subsidies dropped by 46% from P12.715 billion in February.
The government provides subsidies to GOCCs to help cover operational expenses not covered by their revenue.
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) was the top recipient in March, receiving P3.224 billion. This accounted for nearly half or 46.9% of overall subsidies.
This was followed by the National Electrification Administration (NEA) with P2.088 billion in subsidies and the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority with P382 million in subsidies. The two agencies did not receive any subsidies in the previous month.
Other top recipients were the Cultural Center of the Philippines (P156 million), Philippine Heart Center (P152 million), Small Business Corp. (P125 million), Philippine Children’s Medical Center (P118 million), and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (P104 million).
Other GOCCs that received more than P50 million during the month were the Tourism Promotions Board (P83 million), Light Trail Transit Authority (P72 million), Lung Center of the Philippines (P53 million), and the Philippine Coconut Authority (P50 million).
Meanwhile, the Local Water Utilities Administration, National Food Authority (NFA), National Power Corp., Philippine National Railways, Philippine Postal Corp. and Social Housing Finance Corp. did not receive any subsidies in March.
FIRST-QUARTER SUBSIDIES
In the first three months, subsidies to GOCCs stood at P19.587 billion, 8% lower than P21.308 billion in the same period a year ago.
The NIA received the bulk of subsidies in the first quarter, taking in P10.317 billion. This accounted for more than half (52.7%) of the total subsidies released during the period.
This was followed by the NFA with P2.25 billion and the NEA at P2.088 billion.
Last year, subsidies to GOCCs amounted to P163.54 billion. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson