The national government’s subsidies to state-run and -owned firms slid by 18.4 percent in 2023, according to data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).
The recent cash operations report showed that financial support to government-owned and -controlled corporations totaled to P163.54 billion last year.
In comparison, a higher amount was disbursed in the previous year, then reaching P200.41 billion.
The top recipient was the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) with P50.75 billion.
The subsidy support to PhilHealth is often allocated for the payment of health insurance premiums of indigent beneficiaries.
This was followed by the National Irrigation Administration with P40.74 billion and the National Housing Authority with P18.27 billion.
Taking the fourth and fifth spots are the National Food Authority with P10.18 billion and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. with P8 billion, respectively.
Last Friday, the BTr reported that the national government posted a larger budget surplus of P88 billion for January 2024 compared to the P45.7 billion recorded a year ago, reflecting an increase of 92.25 percent.
The agency said the fiscal outturn was brought about by a faster 21.15 percent year-over-year increase in revenue collection, outpacing the 10.39 percent expansion in government spending.
In particular, total revenue for the first month of the year rose to P421.8 billion from P348.2 billion last year, driven by higher tax collections which comprised 91.31 percent or P385.2 billion of the total collection.
National government disbursements for January likewise sped up to P333.9 billion, higher relative to last year’s spending of P302.4 billion.