GOCC subsidies rise in May – Treasury

SUBSIDIES extended by the national GOVERNMENT TO STATE-OWNED fiRMS SOARED IN May, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.

Twenty-six government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCC) secured P29.79 billion assistance during the month, up 468.79 percent from P5.23 billion in the same month a year ago.

The Social Security System accounted for the bulk of subsidies given in the month with P25.5 billion. The state- run pension fund is one of the implementing agencies of the Small Business Wage Subsidy program.

The P51-billion program aims to provide 3.4 million workers in the formal sector employed in micro, small and medium enterprises P5,000 to P8,000 wage subsidies for the month of April and May. The amount of the subsidies depends on the regions where workers are employed.

The National Irrigation Administration came in second with P1.80 billion and National Power Corp. was at third with P936 million.

Also receiving assistance in May were the Local Water Utilities Administration, Light Rail Transit Authority, National Housing Authority, National Food Authority, Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Credit Information Corp., Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp., Lung Center of the Philippines, National Dairy Authority, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Coconut Authority, Philippine Center for Economic Development, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Philippine Fisheries Development Authority, Philippine Heart Center, Philippine Health Insurance Corp., Philippine Rice Research Institute, 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 surged by 410.57 percent to P100.36 billion from the year- ago figure.

Subsidies are part of the national government’s disbursement program.

State spending in May was up by 12.38 percent to P353.6 billion from P314.7 billion a year ago, boosting the year-to-date figure by 26.63 percent to P1.66 trillion.

In 2019, the government gave away a record P201.52 billion in subsidies.