More SOE rot exposed

The country has 62 SOEs which are this year due to receive the bulk of the P16.2 billion set aside for grants and subventions in the 2025-26 budget. This is despite the fact that the majority of these entities are loss-making, weighed down by operational inefficiencies, lack of strategic direction and over-reliance on government support, despite the fact that many by law enjoy monopolies in their area of focus such as electricity.

Parastatals are key to service delivery and are divided into commercial and non-commercial, meaning those expected to run on a profitable or ‘going concern’ basis and those that by the nature of their activities exclusively rely on support from government for sustenance.