Budgetary support to GOCCs surges in H1
Government subsidies to state-owned corporations more than doubled in the first half of 2026, driven largely by the restoration of funds to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).
Manila, Philippines - Government subsidies to state-owned corporations (GOCCs) more than doubled in the first half of 2026, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) reported. Subsidies to GOCCs totaled P114.58 billion from January to June, a 118.2% increase from P52.5 billion in the same period last year. The biggest budgetary support went to PhilHealth, receiving P60 billion - a returned fund balance from the previous year following a Supreme Court ruling.
Food Terminal Inc. received P10 billion in a one-time allocation, while the National Irrigation Administration and National Food Authority got P8.96 billion and P8.71 billion respectively. The Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority received the smallest subsidy, P24 million. Despite this increase, the government plans to reduce its subsidy support for GOCCs to P191.8 billion next year, a 27.6% decrease from this year's P264.9 billion allocation.
Marius Corpus, chairman of the Governance Commission for GOCCs, said the decrease is due to the public service mandate of the GOCCs and the government's policy to reduce reliance on the National Government for financial support. The government also intends to abolish 21 GOCCs, but Corpus noted the liquidation process is lengthy and complex.
Written by urgent.news from Philippine Star Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
