GOVERNMENT subsidies received by state-run companies rose to P5.115 billion in April, latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.
A total of 21 government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) received that amount, a 32-percent increase from P3.874 billion a year earlier.
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA), which is responsible for irrigation development and management in the country, accounted for the bulk with P3.797 billion. The Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) followed next with P644 million, Philippine Rice Research Institute with P147 million and the National Dairy Authority with P106 million.
Others that also received assistance in the month were the Light Rail Transit Authority, Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Credit Information Corp., Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, Development Academy of the Philippines, Lung Center of the Philippines, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Coconut Authority, Philippine Center for Economic Development, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Philippine Heart Center, Philippine Institute for Development Studies, Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care, People’s Television Network Inc., Southern Philippines Development Authority, and Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority.
Year-to-date, government subsidies plunged by 70.6 percent to P14.419 billion from the year-earlier figure.
State companies with the biggest funding assistance for the four-month period were the NIA, with P9.566 billion; National Food Authority, P1.065 billion; and the PCIC, P644 million.
The subsidies fell under the national government’s disbursements program.
In April, state spending fell by 15.1 percent to P221.8 billion, bringing the year-to-date tally to P999.8 billion, a 3.2-percent decrease from a year ago.
In 2018, the government gave away a record P136.652 billion in subsidies.
