Subsidies to state-owned companies declined in August this year after it surged in the previous month, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed. Based on the Treasury report, the national government spent P7.4 billion in subsidies last August, down by 16 percent from R8.8 billion in the same month last year. Of that amount, about 45 percent of the total government subsidies went to the Power Sector Assets & Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM). During the Duterte administration’s first month in office, the government spent P35.26 billion, and bulk of which, or P33.8 billion, was used to pay off the health insurance coverage of indigent families, through the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth). The government needs to provide some financial support to PhilHealth to pay off the health insurance premiums of beneficiaries identified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as indigent individuals. In August, the biggest recipient of government subsidies were the PSALM with P3.36 billion, followed by the National Development Co. with R1.5 billion, and National Irrigation Administration with P1.22 billion. Other recipients of state subsidies during the month were Light Rail Transit Authority (P478 million), National Kidney and Transplant Institute (R440 million), and Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (P182 million). In the first eight months of the year, total subsidies disbursed to state-owned companies amounted to P79.96 billion, higher by 45 percent compared with P55.1 in the same period last year. Last week, the Department of Finance (DOF) reported that the national government posted a budget surplus of P32.6 billion, more than double compared with P15 billon in the same month last year. The surplus in August, the first record under the Duterte administration, dragged down the eight-month fiscal gap to P138.4 billion, leaving the government ample fiscal room to support growth for the remainder of the year. The end-August budget deficit is also well within the P388.87 billion ceiling for the year, but significantly higher compared with the R3.4-billion gap incurred in the same period in 2015. During the month, government revenues reached P209.6 billion, up by 19 percent from P176.7 billion in the previous year. Of that amount, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) contributed P157.5 billion to state coffers, while the Bureau of Customs generated P33.1 billion in revenues. Public spending has also been on the march higher in August, with the government posting a 9 percent growth in expenditure to P177 billion from P161.6 billion in the same month last year. The government’s level of spending is a closely watched driver of economic growth as it contributes about a tenth to gross domestic product (GDP). Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III earlier said the Duterte administration would be responsible with its finances while addressing the underspending in the previous administration. Under the new administration, government infrastructure spending, a major driver for growth, is targeted to be equivalent to 6 percent of GDP, exceeding the previous administration’s five percent goal.