Budget releases, utilization up in Q1

MANILA, Philippines — The government increased its releases of cash allocations with state agencies as of the first quarter following the record P5.768-trillion budget  this year.

Latest data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed that the notices of cash allocation (NCAs) jumped by 12.5 percent to P959.74 billion from January to March compared to last year’s   P852.79 billion.

This resulted in a higher utilization rate of 99 percent from 98 percent in the first quarter of 2023.

This means that of the total releases, P952.65 billion was utilized and only some P7.09 billion was unused as of end-March.

NCAs are disbursement orders by the DBM to government banks servicing the release of funds to agencies. State agencies are expected to use the NCAs to pay for the cash requirements of their programs and projects.

A higher utilization ratio indicates greater capacity of agencies to implement their programs and projects.

Nearly 70 percent of NCA releases were secured by line departments at P665.74 billion. The remaining P294 billion was directed to other agencies, especially state-run firms and local governments.

Other agencies managed to use up the entire allocation for them to cover the internal revenue allotment, special shares and other transfers for LGUs.

Line departments, on the other hand, registered a better utilization rate of 99 percent or P658.87 billion for the NCAs they received as of end-March. In the same period last year, the spending rate was only 97 percent.

By departments, the Department of Public Works and Highways   and the Department of Education  obtained the highest NCAs worth P155.4 billion and P138.57 billion, respectively, in the first quarter.

Data showed that both the top recipients managed to fully utilize their entire allocation for the period.

Other agencies that recorded a 100 percent utilization rate in the first quarter include the departments of Agrarian Reform, Energy, Foreign Affairs, Interior and Local Government, Labor and Employment, Social Welfare and Development, Tourism, Transportation and the National Economic and Development Authority.

Also included are the Congress, Presidential Communications Office, the Judiciary, Civil Service Commission, Commission on Audit, Commission on Elections, Office of the Ombudsman and the Commission on Human Rights, as well as state universities and colleges.

Meanwhile, the Department of Migrant Workers still registered the worst utilization rate in the first quarter at only 46 percent of its NCAs totaling P1.66 billion out of the P3.62 billion allocation.

The Office of the Vice President came in second with a utilization rate of 71 percent at P248.69 million out of the P348.85 million, while the Office of the President was next with 89 percent at P2.14 billion out of the P2.4 billion released.

Last year, the DBM released a record P4.45 trillion worth of NCAs as the government expedited programs and projects that could help the country recover from the pandemic.