SUBSIDIES extended by Filipino taxpayers to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) declined by more than half as of June, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).
Data released by the BTr showed the national government subsidies contracted 60.59 percent in the first semester of 2019.
Total subsidies reached P26.698 billion in the January-to-June period in 2019 lower than the P67.744 billion posted in the same period of last year.
In June, subsidies extended to government corporations reached P7.04 billion in June 2019, a 52.27 percent contraction from the P14.75 billion in June 2018.
The decline in subsidies was mainly due to the 59.79 percent and 16.67 percent contraction in funds extended to the National Food Authority (NFA) and Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), respectively.
Subsidies to the NFA contracted to P2.09 billion in June 2019, from the P5.2 billion posted in June 2018. Funds extended to the LRTA, meanwhile, declined to P5 million in June 2019, from P6 million in June 2018.
The National Irrigation Administration received the largest subsidy in June with P4.61 billion. This was a 54-percent growth from the P2.996 billion it received in June 2018.
This brought the total subsidies extended to major nonfinancial government corporations to P6.71 billion in June 2019. This was a 23.31 percent contraction from the P8.75 billion posted in June 2018.
Meanwhile, other government corporations received subsidies worth P330 million in June 2019, a 66.63-percent decline from P989 million in June 2018.
Among these corporations, the Small Business Corp. received the largest subsidy at P325 million followed by the Development Academy of the Philippines at P157 million.
In the first semester, the government corporation that received the most subsidy was the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., which received a total of P1.449 billion in 2019. The whole amount was extended in May 2019.
This was followed by the Philippine Coconut Authority which has received a total of P976 million in 2019. The largest subsidy was extended by the national government to PCA in May worth P755 million.