MANILA, Philippines — Public spending on infrastructure showed strong double-digit growth in November 2019 as key agencies accelerated the implementation of their projects, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
According to the latest data from the DBM, the national government’s infrastructure and capital outlays grew by 28.6 percent to P80.9 billion in November 2019 from P62.9 billion in the same month in 2018.
The DBM attributed the expansion to the release of payments for completed and partially completed infrastructure of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
“Disbursements of the DOTr for payment of right-of-way acquisitions and construction of buildings of the LTO (Land Transportation Office) and LTFRB (Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board), likewise, contributed to higher infrastructure spending for the period,” the DBM said.
Moreover, the agency said the government released P1.4 billion to the Department of Agriculture to provide lending assistance to small farmers and fisherfolks, intended for the purchase of farm equipment and establishment of agricultural facilities.
Despite the increase in November, infrastructure expenditures in the first 11 months of 2019 was still down by 2.6 percent, reaching P709.4 billion compared to P728.1 billion in the same period of the previous year.
The DBM said this was the result of the delay in the approval of the 2019 budget and the election ban in the early part of the year.
“However, it is worthy to note that the strong disbursement performance in November narrowed down the contraction recorded in infrastructure and other capital outlays to P18.7 billion (2.6 percent) as of end-November, from P36.7 billion (5.5 percent) during the first ten months of 2019,” the DBM said.
Including equity and capital transfer to local government units, the DBM said total capital outlays from January to November dropped by 3.1 percent to P851.5 billion from P878.5 billion in the same 11-month period of 2018.
Even with the slight decline in infrastructure spending, the government’s total disbursements in the first 11 months of the year grew by 6.7 percent to P3.3 trillion from P3.1 trillion a year ago.
This represents about 88 percent of the 2019 full-year disbursement program of P3.77 trillion.
Earlier, Budget undersecretary Laura Pascua expressed confidence that the government would still likely meet its disbursement target for the full year of 2019, despite an initial slowdown in the first half of 2019.
She said this recovery would be driven by the implementation of a catch-up spending program in the latter half of 2019.
“Based on the projections we are seeing, we may likely meet the disbursement target for the year. We think that despite the budget delay, agencies did their best to catch up,” Pascua said.