STATE subsidies to government-run companies fell to P7.04 billion in June, latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.
Seventeen government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) secured that amount, a 52.2-percent drop from P14.75 billion in the same month last year.
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA), which is responsible for irrigation development and management in the country, accounted for the bulk, or P4.61 billion, of that amount. The National Food Authority (NFA) followed with P2.09 billion; Philippine Children’s Medical Center, P89 billion; and Philippine Heart Center, P74 billion.
Also receiving assistance in June were the Light Rail Transit Authority, Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority, Bases Conversion and Development Authority, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, Lung Center of the Philippines, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Institute for Development Studies, Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care, People’s Television Network Inc., Southern Philippines Development Authority, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, and Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority.
Year-to-date, government subsidies plunged by 60.5 percent to P26.69 billion from the year-earlier P67.74 billion.
State-run companies with the biggest funding assistance in the first half were the NIA, with P16 billion; NFA, P3.39 billion; and Philippine Health Insurance Corp., P1.44 billion.
Subsidies fell under the national government’s disbursements program.
State spending in June declined by 0.99 percent to P275.7 billion from P278.5 billion, pulling down the year-to-date tally 0.8 percent to P1.590 trillion.
In 2018, the government gave away a record P136.652 billion in subsidies.
