Filipino taxpayers spent P2.5 billion worth of subsidies to the education sector in 2016, data released on Thursday by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.
Based on the 2016 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI) for the education sector, subsidies extended to the sector increased by 29.23 percent from the P1.93 billion granted in 2015
The PSA said subsidies include financial assistance, tax exemption, and/or tax privilege extended by the government to help develop an industry.
“Secondary/high school education received the highest subsidy amounting to P1.4 billion [57.5 percent of the total],” the PSA said.
This was followed by higher education with P743.5 million, or 29.8 percent, and other education and educational support services with P255.8 million, or 10.3 percent of the total subsidies extended to the sector.
The PSA also said the least amount of subsidy received was allocated to preprimary/preschool education amounting to P4.7 million, or 0.2 percent of total subsidies.
The ASPBI, likewise, showed Calabarzon received the highest subsidy at P458 million, or 18.4 percent.
Th PSA said, however, that the Negros Island region received the lowest subsidy amounting to only P11 million, or 0.4 percent of the total.
“All regions received subsidies from the government in 2016,” the PSA said.
Meanwhile, the PSA reported that the total income generated by the sector in 2016 reached P166.9 billion in 2016.
Higher education earned the highest income amounting to P114.6 billion, or 68.6 percent of the total income for the sector.
This was followed by secondary/high-school education with P32.8 billion, or 19.7 percent, while pre-primary/preschool education generated the lowest income of P2.1 billion, or 1.3 percent of the sector’s total income.
In terms of geographic location, Metro Manila recorded the highest income of P74.9 billion, or 44.9 percent of the sector’s total income.
This was followed by Calavarson with P22.6 billion, or 13.5 percent, and Central Visayas with P13.9 billion, or 8.3 percent. The lowest income was generated by schools in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with P810.5 million, or a 0.5 percent of the total.
“Income or revenue refers to cash received and receivables for goods/products and by-products sold and services rendered. Valuation is at producer prices [ex-establishment] net of discounts and allowances, including duties and taxes but excluding subsidies,” the PSA stated.
The 2016 ASPBI is one of the designated statistical activities of the PSA. Data collected from the survey provide information on the levels, structure, performance and trends of economic activities of the formal sector in the entire country for the year 2016.
The survey was conducted nationwide in 2017, with the year 2016 as the reference period.