The government increased its budgetary support to state-run firms by almost 10 percent to P6.73 billion in November, with the bulk of the subsidies going to the agriculture sector.

Data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed that subsidies to government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) in November rose by 9.16 percent to P6.73 billion from P6.17 billion in the same period in 2022.

During the month, budgetary support for major non-financial government corporations soared by 54 percent to P4.61 billion.

On the other hand, subsidies for other government corporations dropped by 33 percent to P2.13 billion from P3.18 billion in 2022.

The government grants subsidies to GOCCs as a way of covering operational expenses that are not supported by their own revenues.

For November, more than 60 percent of the total subsidies went to support the agriculture sector, specifically the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and the National Food Authority (NFA).

NIA got the biggest allocation at P2.52 billion, up 24 percent from the P2.04 billion it received in the same period in 2022.

NFA secured the second highest subsidy at P1.67 billion while the Philippine Postal Corp. came in third with P500 million.

During the month, no subsidy was released to the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, and the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp.

The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., SB Corp., Social Housing Finance Corp. and the Sugar Regulatory Administration also did not receive budgetary support.

For the 11-month period, subsidies went down by nine percent to P153.05 billion from P168.34 billion in 2022.

From January to November, budgetary support for major non-financial government corporations reached P71.17 billion, inching up by four percent, while subsidies for other government corporations slipped by 18 percent to P81.4 billion.

In November, the government incurred a lower budget deficit of P93 billion after revenue collections picked up while state spending declined.

Total revenue collections increased by three percent to P340.4 billion largely due to a sharp expansion in non-tax revenues, while government spending slipped nearly five percent to P433.6 billion.

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