SUBSIDIES extended to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) declined 47.53% to P14.54 billion in April, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) reported.

The BTr reported that month on month, GOCC subsidies rose 36.82% compared to March.

In April, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) received the most subsidies of P8 billion, accounting for 55% of the total.

This was also the first time PSALM received subsidies during the year.

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) received P3.76 billion, followed by the National Food Authority with P750 million and the Philippine Rice Research Institute P561 million.

GOCCs that were provided at least P200 million in subsidies were the Small Business Corp. (P313 million), the National Power Corp. (P207 million), the Philippine Heart Center (P184 million), the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (P134 million), the National Kidney Transplant Institute (P124 million), and the Philippine Coconut Authority (P111 million).

Receiving P74 million was the Light Rail Transit Authority. Additionally, P60 million went to the National Dairy Authority, P59 million to the Lung Center of the Philippines, P40 million to the Tourism Promotions Board, P35 million to the Cultural Center of the Philippines, P24 million to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, and P20 million to the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions.

The rest of the recipients were the People’s Television Network, Inc. (P18 million), the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (P14 million), the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (P12 million), the  Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (P9 million), the Philippine National Railways (P9 million), the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Southern Philippines Development Authority (P7 million).

GOCCs that received no subsidies were the National Housing Authority, the Bases Conversion Development Authority, the Development Academy of the Philippines, the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp.-13, the Philippine Center for Economic Development, the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC), the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority, the Philippine Tax Academy, the Sugar Regulatory Administration the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority, and the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority.

In the first four months of 2025, subsidies to state-run firms fell 21.51% year on year to P37.13 billion.

PSALM was the top recipient during the quarter with P8 billion in subsidies, followed by the NIA with P11.80 billion and the NFA with P3 billion.

State-owned firms receive monthly subsidies from the National Government to support their daily operations if their revenue is insufficient. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante