Subsidies disbursed to government-owned and -controlled corporations in the first five months of the year posted a 59.6 percent decline versus its year ago level, data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed.
According to data posted on the BTr website, subsidies from January to May 2022 totaled to P32.3 billion, down from the P79.94 billion released in the same period last year.
The lion’s share of the subsidies released to state-run firms, amounting to P15.26 billion, went to the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), which is responsible for irrigation development and management.
Also among the billionaire recipients are the National Food Authority with P3.24 billion, National Housing Authority with P3.19 billion and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority with P2.17 billion.
In May alone, subsidies amounted to P7.91 billion, lower by 82.31 percent versus the P44.69 billion posted in the same time in 2021.
NIA was the top recipient for the month, and the only billionaire recipient, with P6.26 billion.
The BTr earlier reported that the national government’s budget deficit narrowed in May as revenues posted a double-digit hike while expenditures slightly contracted from the year ago level.
According to the BTr’s latest cash operations report, the national government registered a budget deficit of P146.8 billion in May, down by 26.72 percent from the P200.3 billion recorded a year ago.
The year-to-date budget gap likewise declined by 18.99 percent to P458.7 billion from the previous year’s outturn of P566.2 billion.
