Releases to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) stood at P6.48 billion for the month, much higher than the P729 million it handed out in September after a rise in allocations to the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC), and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PRRI). Based on Treasury data, the national government raised its subsidies to the NIA by P2.55 billion in October, a sharp rise from the P271 million it released to the agency a month earlier. PCIC, a state-run firm that gives loan credits and insurance cover for farmers of rice, corn, livestock, and high-value crops, also received P831 million in subsidies after two months without any funding support from the state, while the PRRI -- a research unit of the Department of Agriculture -- got hold of an additional P182 million. It was in October when typhoon Lando, internationally known as Koppu, lashed parts of palay-rich Northern Luzon. This was also a month into the “severe” El Niño expected to hit the country until mid-2016. The National Electrification Administration also received P1.69 billion, the second biggest allocation for the month. Other firms that received additional subsidies in October were the train operator Light Rail Transit Authority with P530 million, the agency’s biggest so far for the year; private sector pension Social Security System at P375 million; the National Power Corp. at P86 million, and the Philippine National Railways at P65 million. The October subsidies brought year-to-date releases to P62.3 billion, down slightly from the P63.64 billion seen a year earlier. The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. has received the biggest subsidies so far at P32.62 billion, making up more than half of the total. Subsidies form part of public expenditures, which were at P1.82 trillion as of end-October. The government plans to release a total of P118.62 billion in GOCC subsidies for 2015. Source - http://www.bworldonline.com