State subsidies to government owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) increased in July this year due to Land Bank of the Philippines’ task to fund the government’s fuel cards for jeepney drivers and operators.
According to the Bureau of the Treasury data, the national government disbursed P38.29 billion in subsidies in July, up by 19 percent compared with P32.47 billion in the same month last year.
Of that amount, P18.49 billion, equivalent to 48 percent, went to the state-run lender Land Bank.
National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said the government subsidy to Land Bank was not for the lender’s cash operations, but for the Pantawid Pasada Program.
To recall, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) began the distribution of the 2019 fuel subsidy amounting to P20,514 for every beneficiary.
Aside from Land Bank, the national government also gave out P8.28 billion to the National Housing Authority, another P7.56 billion to the National Irrigation Administration and P1.1 billion to the National Electrification Administration.
The National Power Corp. also received P810 million in subsidies in July, along with the P739 million for the Sugar Regulatory Administration, and P263 million for the National Kidney and Transplant Institute.
Financial support was also extended to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (P215 million), Philippine Heart Center (P179 million), and National Dairy Administration (P137 million).
Other recipients of government subsides in July were National Home Mortgage Finance Corp., Light Rail Transit Authority, National Food Authority, Philippine National Railways, as well as Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport.
The Cultural Center of the Philippines, Credit Information Corp., Center for International Trade Expositions and Mission, Lung Center of the Philippines, Philippine Coconut Authority and Philippine Institute for Development Studies also received subsidies during the month.
Lastly, the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care, People’s Television Network, Inc., and Southern Philippines Development Authority also got some government support.
In the first seven months of the year, total subsidies of the national government to GOCCs amounted to P65 billion, down 33 percent compared with P97 billion in the same period last year.
