THE national government’s subsidies in the first two months of the year rose by nearly 200 percent, mainly due to local palay procurement and for the improvement of irrigation systems.
Data posted by the Bureau of the Treasury in its website showed that subsidies released to government-owned and -controlled corporations as of end-February amounted to P10.49 billion.
The said figure is 194.2 percent up versus the P3.56 billion recorded in the same period a year ago.
The Department of Budget and Management said in a separate post in its website the increase is mainly due to the local palay procurement under the buffer stocking program of the National Food Authority (NFA).
It also cited the construction, restoration, repair and improvement of national and communal irrigation systems of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), as another reason for the jump in subsidies.
NIA was in fact the largest recipient for the first two months of the year with P5.89 billion, followed by the NFA with P2.98 billion.
Completing the top five are the Small Business Corp with P355 million, Philippine Heart Center with P236 million, and the Light Rail Transit Authority with P170 million.
The total subsidies for the two-month period was released in February alone.
It saw a 278.7 percent hike compared to the P2.77 billion disbursed in the same month in 2019.
