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By Chino S. Leyco Reporter
SUBSIDIES to government-owned and
-controlled corporations and government financial institutions
significantly dropped in February on efforts by the Department of
Finance to minimize state support for these firms.
The combined subsidy extended to
GOCCs and GFIs declined from P908 million to P346 million, from
P1.254 billion in the same period last year. In 2007, state
subsidies reached P27.33 billion, which exceeded the programmed
P18.41 billion.
In the first two months of the
year, the national government subsidies to the state-owned firms
reached P1.09 billion, significantly lower than P2.6 billion in the
same period last year.
In February, state-owned firms
that enjoyed hefty subsidies were the Technology Resource Center,
which got the bulk of it with P145 million, followed by the National
Irrigation Administration with P35 million. NIA is now in the midst
of a controversy over the alleged misuse of a P3.1-billion budget
for the rehabilitation and restoration of all irrigation systems
nationwide.
Other net recipients of state
financial support are the Philippine Children’s Medical Center,
P20 million; the Philippine Coconut Authority, P19 million; the
National Kidney and Transplant Institute, P18 million; the
Philippine Heart Center, P16 million; Cultural Center of the
Philippines, P14 million; Lung Center of the Philippines, P13
million; Philippine National Railways, P11 million, and Philippine
Rice Research Institute, P11 million.
After the government lowered its
subsidies to state-owed firms in February, the Department of Finance
reported that the country posted a P19-billion deficit in budget.
Revenues in February, however,
dropped to P81.8 billion from P89.6 billion in the same period last
year, whole total expenditure grew 28.3 percent to P100.8 billion
from P78.5 billion last year.
Finance Secretary Margarito Teves
said this is due to higher interest payments arising from the
issuance of Treasury bills to government financial institutions and
local governments.
In the first two months of the
year. Teves said the government budget was short of P32.9 billion,
or higher than the deficit of P18.6 billion in the same period last
year.
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