By CHINO S. LEYCO Government subsidies to state-run companies rose by almost half last year owing to the health insurance benefits for indigent Filipinos, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed. Based on the Treasury report, government-owned and- controlled corporations (GOCCs) received ₱201.52 billion in subsidies in January to December last year, up 47 percent compared with ₱136.65 billion in the previous year. The full-year total subsidies in 2019 also exceeded the Duterte administration’s target of only ₱187.1 billion. According to the Treasury, bulk of the state aid to GOCCs went to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., commonly known as PhilHealth, which cornered ₱72.7 billion or about 36.07 percent of the total. PhilHealth, with a mandate to provide adequate and affordable social health insurance coverage for all Filipinos, receives regular financial support from the government to settle the insurance premiums for indigent individuals. Following PhilHealth is the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), whose mandate is to develop the country’s irrigation system. In 2019, the agency received ₱36.64 billion in subsidies. Another recipient of government support is the Land Bank of the Philippines, but unlike PhilHealth and NIA, the state-owned lender’s subsidies were transferred to jeepney drivers and operators, or the beneficiaries of the government’s fuel subsidies. Based on the Treasury data, the total fuel subsidy funds that channeled through Land Bank amounted ₱30.49 billion. The National Housing Authority is another a major receiver of state aid last year with ₱13.86 billion along with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority with ₱10.8 billion and the National Food Authority with ₱7 billion. Likewise, the National Electrification Administration, Philippine Crop Insurance Corp., Light Rail Transit Authority, and Philippine Coconut Authority received ₱4.9 billion, ₱3.95 billion, ₱3.69 billion and ₱2.06 billion, respectively. In 2019, the National Power Corp. and Small Business Corp. each received ₱1.5 billion from the national government, while the Local Water Utilities Administration got ₱1.32 billion. The Philippine Heart Center (₱1.29 billion), Sugar Regulatory Administration (₱1.24 billion) and the Philippine Children Medical Center (₱1.04 billion) also enjoyed at least a billion worth of aid from the state last year. In December alone, government subsidies skyrocketed to ₱25.4 billion from only ₱2.18 billion in the same month last year. On Thursday, the Treasury reported that the Duterte administration surpassed its ₱620 billion budget deficit ceiling last year any 6.5 percent to ₱660.2 billion.