The national government’s subsidies to government-owned and -controlled corporations significantly jumped in August, with bulk of the amount released to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed.
According to data posted on the BTr website, subsidies in August totaled to P42.35 billion, posting a big hike from the P4.99 billion released in the same period a year ago.
The lion’s share of the subsidies released to state-run firms, amounting to P30.61 billion, went to PhilHealth.
The subsidy support to PhilHealth is often allocated for the payment of health insurance premiums of indigent beneficiaries.
The BTr also said in an earlier statement that total disbursements in August posted a 34.2 percent jump from last year, marking the second-highest growth registered for the year, with subsidy releases to PhilHealth partly driving the higher outturn for the month.
The National Irrigation Administration, which is responsible for irrigation development and management, is the second biggest recipient for the period with P6.01 billion.
The National Housing Authority completes the list of top three recipients for the month with P2.99 billion.
In the first eight months of the year, total subsidies released amounted to P136.72 billion, 9.82 percent down from the year ago level of P151.61 billion.
PhilHealth was also the top recipient for the January to August period with P76.06 billion. – Angela Celis
