PhilHealth Tops GOCC Subsidy List With Funds Returned After Supreme Court Ruling
Key Takeaways
- •GOCC subsidies reached P64.95 billion in August, up sharply from P8.02 billion a year earlier and 860.19% above July's level.
- •PhilHealth received P58.56 billion, or 90.16% of the August total, mostly representing unutilized subsidy funds returned to the Treasury after a Supreme Court ruling.
- •The National Irrigation Administration received P2.28 billion, followed by the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. with P863 million and the National Food Authority with P855 million.
- •Nine GOCCs, including the Philippine National Railways, the National Electrification Administration, and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, received zero subsidies in August.
- •Subsidies totaled P191.79 billion in the first eight months of the year, a 173% increase, with PhilHealth's P118.56 billion representing roughly 62% of that amount.
Subsidies extended to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) surged to P64.95 billion in August, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).
The August total was sharply higher than the P8.02 billion in subsidies granted to state-run firms a year earlier. Month on month, GOCC subsidies climbed 860.19% from July.
State-owned firms receive monthly subsidies from the National Government to support daily operations when their own revenue is insufficient.
The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) took the largest share in August, receiving P58.56 billion, or 90.16% of the total. The BTr said the allocation involves the returned fund balance from unutilized subsidies remitted to the bureau following a Supreme Court ruling. With that single entry making up nine-tenths of the month's total, the surge reflects previously granted but unutilized funds flowing back to the Treasury rather than a broad expansion of new subsidy support across the GOCC sector.
It was followed by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) with P2.28 billion, the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) with P863 million, and the National Food Authority (NFA) with P855 million. Outside PhilHealth, the remaining GOCCs received a combined P6.39 billion for the month.
The smallest non-zero subsidies went to the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority (P4 million), the Philippine Center for Economic Development (P5 million), and the Philippine Tourism Authority (P5 million).
Receiving zero subsidies were the Small Business Corp., the National Electrification Administration, the Philippine National Railways, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, Food Terminal, Inc. (FTI), the Philippine Postal Corp., the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, and the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority.
In the first eight months of the year, GOCC subsidies reached P191.79 billion, up 173%. The biggest recipients over the January-to-August period were PhilHealth (P118.56 billion), the NIA (P13.47 billion), and the FTI (P10 billion). PhilHealth's year-to-date total works out to about 62% of the eight-month figure, and the Treasury's monthly reports for the rest of the year will show how allocations compare against an August that included the returned PhilHealth balance.
— Justine Irish D. Tabile
This report was originally published by BusinessWorld.
