THE subsidy given in January by the national government to companies it owns or controls was lower by 13.77 percent compared to the subsidies disbursed in January last year.
Based on data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), the subsidy provided by the government to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) amounted to P795 million compared to the P922 million recorded in January 2018.
The National Irrigation Administration received the highest subsidy for the month with P435 million, higher by 2.11 percent from the P426 million that the government disbursed to NIA in the same month last year.
The second-highest recipient of subsidies for the month was the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) with P74 million from P72 million last year, followed by the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) with P67 million, lower than the P78 million it received in the same month last year.
Other GOCCs that were provided subsidies for January include: the National Kidney and Transplant Institute with P50 million, the Philippine Rice Research Institute with P49 million, the Cultural Center of the Philippines with P24 million, the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) with P17 million, the Philippine Coconut Authority with P14 million, and the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions and the Philippine Institute for Development Studies with P11 million.
Furthermore, the National Dairy Authority received P9 million worth of subsidy, the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care and the People’s Television Network Inc. with P6 million each, the Light Rail Transit Authority and the Credit Information Corp. (CIC) with P5 million each, and the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority, Southern Philippines Development Authority and the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority with P4 million each.
A subsidy given by the government to GOCCs aims to help agencies reduce its costs and support the growth of different sectors, among others.
It was reported earlier that the Duterte administration aims to complete its 10-point socioeconomic agenda which aims to alleviate poverty in the country and improve the social welfare of the Filipinos, including strengthening efforts toward human capital development, health and education systems, and improving social protection programs, among others.