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Subsidies awarded to state corporations during the 10 months through October have already exceeded the 2019 record total, as the national government disbursed financial support to programs and projects to combat the economic and health consequences of COVID-19.
The latest data from the Treasury Office showed that subsidies to government owned and controlled corporations (GOCC) from January to October amounted to P205.9 billion, up from P201.5 billion for all of 2019.
The GOCCs that received the highest subsidies during the 10-month period were the Social Security System, with P51 billion; the National Food Authority, P37.7 billion; Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), P30.4 billion, and the National Irrigation Administration, P29.2 billion.
The SSS disbursed the small business wage subsidy to workers at the hardest hit businesses during the enhanced community quarantine from mid-March to May, which halted 75 percent of the economy.
In a report last month, the Department of Budget and Management said that for PhilHealth and the government financial institution (GFI) Land Bank of the Philippines, “further releases are expected for the national health insurance program and the allowance for the transfer program. unconditional monetary to be carried out in the coming months with the continuous evaluation of the special budget requests for these programs ”.
At the height of the tightest COVID-19 shutdown in the region, budget support to government corporations dropped to P185.3 billion from the P195.9 billion originally scheduled in the 2020 P4.1 trillion budget.
This budget cut under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act was realigned into programs, activities and projects that address the health and socioeconomic crises inflicted by COVID-19.
According to the GOCC Governance Commission, about 90 percent of the subsidies that state-owned companies receive were spent on programs and projects, with the rest covering operating expenses. INQ
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