SUBSIDIES to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) rose in May from a year earlier but were substantially lower compared to the previous month, Bureau of the Treasury data showed.

Based on the agency's latest cash operations report, the budgetary support of P9.74 billion was 32 percent more than the year-ago P7.38 billion. It was, however, almost three times lower than April's P27.72 billion.

This took the January-May tally to P57.05 billion, 51.6 percent higher than the P37.64 billion recorded in the same period last year.

Subsidies given to government financial institutions totaled P105 million in May, down from P205 million a year earlier and P1.4 billion in April.

As of end-May, however, government financial institutions received P2.68 billion, markedly up from the P349 million recorded in the same period last year.

Subsidies to major nonfinancial state firms, which comprised the bulk of May's subsidies, rose to P7.55 billion from P5.52 billion a year earlier. This is, however, almost two times lower than the P15.80 billion recorded in April.

Year to date, major nonfinancial state firms received a total of P38.53 billion compared to P25.14 billion a year earlier.

Subsidies to other state-owned firms likewise rose to P2.08 billion from P1.65 billion a year earlier but significantly lower than P10.52 billion in April.

For the January to May period, these subsidies grew to P15.83 billion from last year's P12.15 billion.

The National Irrigation Administration took the lion's share of May subsidies at P7.27 billion, followed by the Philippine Rice Research Institute with P629 million.

In third was the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority with P359 million.

Rounding up the top five were the Philippine Children's Medical Center (P207 million) and the Philippine Heart Center (P168 million).

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