GOCC subsidy bill falls 22.9% in 2025 as fiscal consolidation ramps up

By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Senior Reporter

SUBSIDIES provided to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) fell 22.9% in 2025, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said.

Budgetary support provided to state-run firms amounted to P106.92 billion in 2025, down from P138.763 billion a year earlier.

State-owned firms receive monthly subsidies from the national government to support their daily operations if their revenue is insufficient.

Social Watch Philippines Senior Budget Analyst Alce C. Quitalig said the lower subsidies released in 2025 reflect the government’s fiscal consolidation efforts.

“The current administration is clearly pursuing fiscal consolidation, reducing reliance on national government subsidies to GOCCs and signaling an expectation to the GOCCs to become more self-reliant in terms of generating their own revenue,” Mr. Quitalig said via Viber.

He said the subsidies released last year were the lowest since the P103 billion released in 2016.

Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), said the government in 2025 shifted its focus to profitable GOCCs to reduce the budget deficit and national government borrowings.

In 2025, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) topped the subsidy list with P47.239 billion or 44.2% of the total.

This was followed by the National Food Authority (NFA), which received P14.404 billion, and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., with P8 billion.

Other GOCCs on the subsidy list were the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (P5.85 billion), the Philippine Retirement Authority (P4.433 billion), the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (P3.765 billion), the Philippine Heart Center (P2.409 billion), and the Philippine Rubber Research Institute (P2.112 billion).

Government financial institutions (GFIs) received the fewest subsidies, with the Land Bank of the Philippines receiving P7 million for 2025.

Mr. Quitalig said the lower subsidies to GFIs could be a by-product of GOCC reclassification.

“The government reclassified certain GOCCs, shifting some from the category of GFIs to other GOCCs, and vice versa,” he said, citing the reclassification of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. from the GFI category to the other GOCC category in 2024.

“Indeed, Social Housing Finance Corp., Credit Information Corp., Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp., and National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. received no subsidies in 2025, highlighting uneven treatment across institutions,” he added, noting that the four agencies are GFIs.

The other agencies that received minimal subsidies were the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, which received P22 million, and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), which received P27 million.

According to Mr. Quitalig, subsidies for PhilHealth have been on the decline since 2023 from over P80 billion annually.

In 2023, subsidies to PhilHealth totaled P50.7 billion. This fell to P9.6 billion in 2024.

The other GOCCs that received less than P100 million in subsidies in 2025 were the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority (P47 million), the Philippine Center for Economic Development (P59 million), the Philippine Tax Academy (P60 million), and the Southern Philippines Development Authority (P84 million).

Mr. Quitalig said steep cuts were made in the housing and irrigation GOCCs, with the National Housing Authority (NHA) receiving P1.4 billion in 2025, down from P5 billion in 2024, the NIA receiving P47 billion against P71 billion previously, and the Pampansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program, which received P758 million, down from P1.1 billion.

“These reductions raise a critical question: What does this shift mean for nonfinancial GOCCs tasked with essential services and for citizens who depend on them?” he said.

“These nonfinancial GOCCs with social functions face operational strain and tighter budgets, which may constrain their ability to deliver essential services,” he added.

At first glance, he said that the 2025 subsidy report shows a smoothed-out monthly distribution.

“Some subsidy releases remain uneven, notably for NIA, NHA, and PhilHealth,” he said.

“In contract, smaller allocations to Philippine National Railways, Light Rail Transit Authority, and NFA were released more regularly in 2025, suggesting improved predictability for transport and food security services,” he added.

RCBC’s Mr. Ricafort said he expects subsidies this year to increase in view of the assistance that the government will release for the most vulnerable members of society, such as transport, fisherfolk, agriculture, and the poor.

“Other subsidies such as on healthcare and other social services for the poorest of the poor could lead to higher subsidy bills, on top of non-monetary measures to prevent higher prices from passing through to the general public,” he added.