THE subsidies made by the national government for the month of August have reached P5.037 billion, with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) receiving the bulk of the subsidy for the month, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.
The subsidies for August represent a 17.2- percent contraction from the P6.085 billion made in the same month for 2017.
The NIA received the bulk of the subsidy with P2.392 billion, falling by 15.1 percent compared to the P2.818 billion received in 2017.
The second-biggest recipient of subsidy for the month is the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) with P2 billion, with no subsidy received during the same month last year.
Other government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) that received subsidies for the month include: the Philippine Coconut Authority with P233 million; the Philippine Heart Center with P72 million; the Philippine Children’s Medical Center with P65 million; and the Philippine Rice Research Institute with P51 million.
Also included in the list are: the National Kidney Transplant Institute with P49 million; the Lung Center of the Philippines with P41 million; the Philippine Sugar Corp. with P32 million; the Philippine National Railway with P29 million; the Cultural Center of the Philippines with P26 million; the Philippine Institute for Development Studies with P11 million; and the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care with P10 million.
The People’s Television Network also received a subsidy for the month amounting to P6 million; the Light Rail Transit Administration with P6 million, as well; the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority with P4 million; the Southern Philippines Development Authority with P4 million; the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone with P4 million; and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, P2 million. The government’s subsidy has amounted to a total of P105.251 billion from January to August this year, expanding by 29.6 percent from the P81.171 billion disbursed in the same period last year.
A subsidy from government to GOCCs aims to help agencies reduce costs and support the growth of different sectors, among others.
