Gov't posts highest spending growth in Nov

MANILA, Philippines - The government said the improvement in the spending level in November is expected to continue in December and in 2012 following the early passage of next year’s P1.816-trillion budget.

Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad said government departments and agencies have effectively disbursed a total of P150.7 billion for the month of November, marking the highest year-on-year growth in spending this year.

The growth is 35.7 percent, a marked improvement from the single-digit growth rate that marked the P111.1 billion spending in November 2010.

“Aside from posting the highest growth this year, this is also the first time that our actual expenses surpassed programmed expenditures of P148.7 billion, showing a vigorous upswing of P2 billion,” Abad said.

According to the latest data from the Department of Finance, the government’s fiscal deficit in November reached P22 billion, bringing the current deficit to P96.3 billion from the P269.8-billion deficit in the same period last year.

“As of November 2011, the budget department has already released allotments amounting to P1.55 trillion. That’s 94 percent of the P1.645-trillion 2011 expenditure program, three percent more than issuances in the same period in 2010,” he said.

Spending in November picked up following an increase in the number of Notices for Cash Allotments (NCAs) issued for the period. The NCAs in November amounted to P153.9 billion, compared to P96.5 billion in 2010.

Abad said the increase in November spending is a reflection of the successful implementation of the Aquino administration’s P72-billion Disbursement Acceleration Plan.

“The November performance clearly shows that the DAP approved by President Aquino has drastically helped in improving our spending performance. Likewise, the government agencies’ heightened efforts to catch up on regular spending is finally paying off,” Abad said.

The government also attributes the improvement in November spending to faster execution of agency programs and projects as reflected in the increased spending by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and subsidies extended to government-owned-and-controlled-corporations (GOCCs).