Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson wants the government to take a harder look at state-owned companies that continue to receive subsidies despite failing to generate income or provide enough public benefit.

Lacson raised the issue during a Development Budget Coordinating Committee briefing at the Senate, where he questioned the government’s policy toward persistently nonperforming government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs).

“What is the new policy of the government sa nonperforming GOCC? Ito ang year in year out sina-subsidize ng national government pero mukhang wala namang pakinabang. Unlike the others nakakuha tayo from GOCCs, pero iba naman talagang persistently walang income, lahat expenses, walang revenues pero tuloy-tuloy naman ang subsidies,” he said.

For Lacson, simply cutting the subsidies may not be enough.

“Why don’t we just abolish them, or not fund them for that matter? Even if it’s not abolished by law, kung walang fund, hindi maka-function,” he added.

Finance Secretary Frederick Go told the senator that the Governance Commission for GOCCs is looking at 21 corporations that could be closed, wound down or absorbed by other GOCCs.
But Go said the process is “very slow, long and tedious.”

Budget Secretary Kim Robert de Leon, meanwhile, said the government is also considering separation incentives for employees who could be affected.

Lacson acknowledged that closing GOCCs would not be easy, particularly because government workers could lose their jobs.

“I understand the complexities, kasi may ma-displace na staff, mga personnel manning those GOCCs. Ano plano in case we abolish them? Ano ang contingency plans? They are government employees,” he said.

However, Lacson said the government also has to consider its limited financial resources.

“Maybe that’s one of the reasons why you are finding difficulty in abolishing ibang GOCCs, for humanitarian. Pero we cannot also afford to consider humanitarian reasons in view of the very tight fiscal space that we’re having now,” he added.

Lacson also asked how much the government has been spending on subsidies for nonperforming GOCCs from 2022 to 2026.

He said the figures should be examined closely, especially as the government continues to deal with.IMT