SUBSIDIES provided to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) more than tripled in April, the Bureau of the Treasury reported.
Budgetary support to GOCCs surged 209% to P27.72 billion in April compared to a year earlier.
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) received the most subsidies during the month with P11.425 billion, accounting for 41.2% of all subsidies.
This was followed by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., which got P8 billion in April. It did not receive any subsidies in the previous months.
The National Housing Authority was granted P3.749 billion, also its first subsidy for the year so far.
Other top recipients in April were the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (P900 million), Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp. (P512 million), Small Business Corp. (P425 million), the Philippine Rice Research Institute (P307 million), the Philippine National Railways (P285 million), the National Power Corp. (P257 million), the Philippine Coconut Authority (P225 million), and the Philippine Heart Center (P213 million).
GOCCs that also received at least P100 million were the National Dairy Authority (P194 million), the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (P176 million), the Cultural Center of the Philippines (P164 million), the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (P133 million), the Southern Philippines Development Authority (P124 million) and the People’s Television Network, Inc. (P100 million).
In the four months to April, subsidies extended to GOCCs totaled P47.307 billion, up 56.3% from a year earlier.
The NIA was the top recipient in the four-month period, receiving P21.742 billion. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson