SUBSIDIES extended by the national government to state-owned firms for the first four months of the year quadrupled to P70.570 billion from P14.419 billion in the same period in 2019, with state-run pension fund Social Security System accounting for more than a third of the total.
Data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed a 389.4 percent year-on-year jump in subsidies to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) as of end-April this year compared to last year.
Of the total subsidies as of end-April this year, 59.26 percent or P41.821 billion went to major non-financial government corporations while 40.74 percent or P28.749 billion was distributed to other government corporations.
The SSS received the biggest chunk of subsidies, with P25.5 billion as of end-April.
It was one of the vital conduits of government aid during the Covid-19 pandemic, having been tapped to provide to qualified members two tranches of the Small Business Wage Subsidy (SBWS) of the Department of Finance, a government response to help sectors impacted by pandemic-forced lockdowns.
Getting the next biggest subsidy for the period was National Irrigation Administration (NIA), a major nonfinancial government corporation, with P13.577 billion; followed by Light Rail Transit Authority (P11.141 billion), National Electrification Administration (P11.015 billion) and National Food Authority (P5.8 billion).
The national government gives subsidies to GOCCs either to cover operations that are not supported by corporate revenues or fund specific programs or projects.
Among those that received more than P100 million in subsidies were Small Business Corp. (P500 million), Philippine Heart Center (P472 million), Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (P342 million), Philippine Children’s Medical Center (P324 million), Philippine Rice Research Institute (P323 million), National Kidney Transplant Institute (P300 million), National Housing Authority (P288 million), Lung Center of the Philippines (P198 million), Philippine Institute for Development Studies (P135 million), Philippine Coconut Authority (P104 million) and Cultural Center of the Philippines (P104 million).
Notably, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) was not included among the list of GOCCs that have already received subsidies as of end-April.
However, National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon told reporters that PhilHealth received just this June its first subsidy for this year worth around P27 billion.
6-fold April releases
Meanwhile, the government released P34.416 billion in April this year, growing six-fold from P5.115 billion in the same month in 2019.
The amount of subsidies in April this year was also the highest since March 2018 when P35.240 billion was released by the government to GOCCs.
Of the total April subsidy this year, 76.42 percent or P26.299 billion went to other government corporations while the remaining 23.58 percent or P8.117 billion was disbursed to major nonfinancial government corporations.
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