SUBSIDIES received by state-run companies from the national government dropped in March, latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.
Twenty-three government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) received a total of P5.740 billion in the month, a 83.7-percent decrease from P35.240 billion a year earlier.
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA), which is responsible for irrigation development and management, accounted for the bulk at P3.588 billion.
The National Food Authority got P1.065 billion; the Philippine National Railways (PNR), P296 million; and the National Power Corp., P273 million.
Other government firms that received assistance were the Light Rail Transit Authority, Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority, Bases Conversion and Development Authority, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, Lung Center of the Philippines, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC), Philippine Fisheries Development Authority, Philippine Heart Center, Philippine Rice Research Institute, Philippine Institute for Development Studies, Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care, People’s Television Network Inc., Small Business Corp., Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Southern Philippines Development Authority, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, and the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority.
Year-to-date, government subsidies plunged by 79.4 percent to P9.304 billion from a year earlier.
State companies with the biggest funding assistance for the two-month period were the NIA, P5.769 billion; PNR, P296 million; and the PCMC, P277 million.
The subsidies fell under the national government’s disbursements program.
In March, state spending fell by 8.2 percent to P287.327 billion, bringing the year-to-date tally to P777.990 billion, 0.78 percent higher than a year ago, but P98.308 billion less than the estimated programmed funds of P876.298 billion.
In 2018, the government gave away a record P136.652 billion in subsidies.
