SUBSIDIES extended by Filipino taxpayers to the water supply and sewerage, waste-management and remediation firms increased by nearly 60 percent in 2014, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Data showed that subsidies extended to firms engaged in water supply and sewerage, waste-management and remediation activities increased by 58.57 percent in 2014.
In 2014 Filipinos’ tax subsidies to the sector reached P310 million, significantly higher than the P195.5 million recorded in 2013.
“Subsidies are all special grants in the form of financial assistance or tax exemption or tax privilege given by the government to aid and develop an industry,” the PSA said.
Among industries, the PSA said, the subsidies received by firms engaged in water collection, treatment and supply was the highest at P240 million, or nearly 80 percent of the sector’s entire subsidy.
Other industries that received subsidies in 2014 were treatment and disposal of hazardous waste, with P34.2 million, or 11 percent of the total; remediation activities and other waste-management services, P21.7 million, or 7 percent; and sewerage, P14.1 million, or 4.6 percent.
However, PSA data showed that in 2013, the water-collection, -treatment and -supply industry was the only recipient of the subsidies extended to the entire sector.
PSA data also showed that the total value of output generated by all establishments in 2014 amounted to P65 billion.
Of this amount, the water-collection, -treatment and -supply industry accounted for around 90.5 percent or P58.8 billion.
The total value of output generated by other industries, such as materials recovery, reached P2.6 billion, or 4.1 percent; collection of nonhazardous waste, P2 billion, or 3 percent; and sewerage, P900 million, or 1.3 percent of the total.
Industries that accounted for less than a percent of total output were treatment and disposal of nonhazardous waste at P300 million, or 0.4 percent, as well as other industries, P400 million, with 0.6 percent of the total.
Based on PSA data, there were 975 establishments engaged in water supply and sewerage, waste-management and remediation activities in the formal sector of the economy.
Leading the sector was water-collection, -treatment and -supply industry, which include water districts, with 845 establishments, or 86.7 percent of the total.
This was followed by the materials recovery with 53 establishments, or 5.4 percent, while collection of non-hazardous waste ranked third with 27 establishments, or 2.8 percent of the total count.
The data was based on the final results of the 2014 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (Aspbi).
The Aspbi is one of the designated statistical activities of the PSA. Data collected from the survey provides information on the levels, structure, performance and trends of economic activities of the formal sector in the entire country.
The survey was conducted nationwide in 2015, with the year 2014 as the reference period of data, except for employment data which is as of November 15, 2014.