SUBSIDIES to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) ballooned in April, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.

Based on the agency's latest cash operations report, the budgetary support of P27.72 billion was just over three times more than the year-ago P8.957 billion. It was even larger — four times more — than March's P6.872 billion.

This took the January-April tally to P47.307 billion, 56.3 percent higher than the P30.265 billion recorded in the same period last year.

Subsidies given to government financial institutions totaled P1.398 billion in April, from zero a year earlier and P140 million in March.

As of end-April, government financial institutions received P2.577 billion, up from the P144 million recorded in the same period last year.

Subsidies to major nonfinancial state firms, which comprised the bulk of April's subsidies, rose to P15.799 billion in April from P6.881 billion a year earlier. This is also three times higher than the P5.398 billion recorded in March.

Year to date, major nonfinancial state firms received a total of P30.978 billion compared to P19.618 billion a year earlier.

Subsidies to other state-owned firms likewise ballooned to P10.523 billion from P2.076 billion a year earlier and P1.334 billion in March.

For the January to April period, these subsidies grew to P13.752 billion from last year's P10.503 billion.

The National Irrigation Administration took the lion's share of April subsidies at P11.425 billion from P3.878 in April last year, followed by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. at P8.0 billion from zero a year earlier.

At third was the National Housing Authority with P3.749 billion from P836 million a year earlier.

Rounding up the top five were the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (P900 million, up from P134 million last year and zero in March) and Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp. (P512 million, up from P10 million last year and P12 million in March).