PhilHealth gets biggest share of subsidies among gov’t firms in 2015

Rappler.com

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

PhilHealth gets biggest share of subsidies among gov’t firms in 2015
Government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) received subsidies amounting to P78.01 billion ($1.68 billion) in 2015, according to the Bureau of Treasury

MANILA, Philippines  – The national government’s subsidies for government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) in 2015 was lower than what was released in 2014, with Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) receiving the biggest share.

The Bureau of Treasury (BTr) reported that GOCCs received a total of P78.01 billion ($1.68 billion) this year – 3.02% lower than 2014’s P80.44 billion ($1.73 billion).

In December 2015 alone, government subsidies to GOCCs reached P12 billion ($258.5 million) or almost 15% lower than the P14.12 billion ($304.18 billion) released in the same month in 2014.

PhilHealth’s biggest share

A bulk of the financial support was received by PhilHealth with P34.87 billion ($751.18 million) or 44% of the entire government subsidy for GOCCs.

According to BTr, the amount released was for the premium subsidy of indigent families under the National Health Insurance Program.

PhilHealth expanded its primary care package in early 2015 to cover families identified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development who have “no visible means of income.” (READ: ‘Tsekap’: Philhealth has new benefits for indigents)

Other GOCCs which received the most support are:

  • National Irrigation Administration with P11.68 billion ($251.62 million)
  • National Housing Authority with P11.21 billion ($241.5 million)
  • National Food Authority with P4.25 billion ($92 million)
  • National Electrification Administration with P4.18 billion ($90 million)

Total expenditure in 2015 ‘higher’

Despite the total expenditures for 2015 falling below the P2.56 trillion ($55.15 billion) program, it is higher than the previous year’s.

The national government reported that their total expenditures for 2015 amounted to P2.23 trillion ($48 billion) – a 13% increase from 2014’s P1.98 trillion ($42.65 billion).

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said that the spending increase can be attributed to the higher disbursements for maintenance and operating expenses and capital outlays which grew by 30.7% and 25.1% respectively.

“Higher disbursement in maintenance as well as capital outlays funded the expansion of programs in social services, defense, and road and transport infrastructure in 2015,” Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said.

Total interest payments, meanwhile, amounted to P309.4 billion ($6.7 billion) in 2014, lower than 2014’s P361.8 billion ($7.8 billion). – Rappler.com

*$1=P46

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!