MANILA, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- State firm subsidies more than doubled to 114.6 billion pesos (about 1.86 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2026 in the Philippines, driven by a record 66.3 billion pesos in April and a 16.6-billion-peso boost in June, local media reported on Monday.
According to Manila Bulletin, the April surge came from a 60-billion-peso subsidy to PhilHealth after a Supreme Court ruling, while Food Terminal Inc. got a one-time 10 billion pesos in June. The National Electrification Administration also received 3 billion pesos in March, up from zero a year earlier.
The National Food Authority saw support rise 21.3 percent to 8.7 billion pesos, while the National Irrigation Administration's subsidy nearly halved to 9 billion pesos. The Philippine Rice Research Institute received 1.5 billion pesos, and the Philippine Postal Corp. got 1.2 billion pesos. (1 peso equals 0.016 U.S. dollars) ■
