Government subsidies to state-run firms dropped to ₱95.8 billion as of end-November from ₱129.4 billion in the same period last year, as the Marcos Jr. administration scaled back funding for major non-financial and financial government-owned and/or -controlled corporations (GOCCs).

The latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed that the 26-percent decline in subsidies was driven by a massive reduction in funding support for major state-owned non-financial and financial corporations.

Subsidies for major non-financial corporations declined by 33.1 percent to ₱58.9 billion as of end-November, compared with ₱88.3 billion a year earlier. These accounted for 61.5 percent of year-to-date subsidies.

Subsidies for the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), which received the largest support among major non-financial firms, fell by 40.8 percent to ₱39.7 billion from ₱67 billion. NIA is primarily responsible for developing and managing irrigation systems to support the country’s agricultural sector.

Notably, government subsidies for the National Housing Authority (NHA) plunged by 75.7 percent to ₱1.3 billion from ₱5.5 billion a year earlier. Similarly, support for the National Electrification Administration (NEA) plummeted by 63.7 percent to ₱1.5 billion from ₱4 billion a year ago.

This downward trend among major non-financial GOCCs could not be offset even by a sharp increase in subsidies for the National Food Authority (NFA), which surged by 65.5 percent to ₱13.7 billion from ₱8.3 billion a year ago.

As of end-November, government financial institutions (GFIs) received only ₱509 million, marking a steep 90.9-percent drop from ₱5.58 billion last year. Subsidies to GFIs accounted for less than one percent of the 11-month total.

Meanwhile, other GOCCs, which accounted for 38 percent of end-November subsidies, inched up by 1.9 percent to ₱36.4 billion from ₱35.72 billion a year ago. Support for the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) surged by 50 percent to ₱4.7 billion from ₱3.2 billion.

Notably, the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA), which was not included in the 2024 list, received ₱4.4 billion.

It can be recalled that the current administration’s subsidies to GOCCs last year were the lowest in six years. GOCCs received a total of ₱138.8 billion in state subsidies from January to December 2024, a 15-percent decline from ₱163.5 billion in 2023. The 2024 full-year subsidy figure was the lowest since 2018’s ₱136.7 billion.

This was also significantly lower than the peak of more than ₱229 billion in 2020—at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic—when the national government (NG) provided wage subsidies to workers in severely affected small businesses and distributed cash aid to vulnerable sectors during the strictest lockdowns to contain the virus.

Under the current Marcos Jr. administration, last year’s subsidies marked the lowest annual support to GOCCs to date.