February subsidies to state companies total P3B — Finance Dept.

State subsidies to government-owned companies totaled P3.193 billion in February, more than double the P1.12 billion in January, the Department of Finance said on Thursday. In February 2010, similar subsidies amounted to only P34 million. The Finance Department did not say why. The February subsidies brought the total disbursements to P4.316 billion, from which state-owned National Power Corp. got the lion’s share of P2 billion, the department said. Another recipient, National Housing Authority got P574 million, and then the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) P301 million. The other recipients in February were the National Livelihood Development Corp. (P250 million) and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (P7 million). The Philippine Health Insurance Corp., popuparly known as the state-owned health insurer PhilHealth, meanwhile, received P10 million. The department said it is constantly doing a performance review on state-owned and -controlled corporations or GOCCs to see which of those firms may be referred to Congress for abolition or those that may eventually be privatized. State subsidies are entered as expenses in government’s books. — VS, GMA News