Government releases 92% of budget in H1

MANILA, Philippines — The government has released P5.3 trillion or about 92 percent of the record P5.768-trillion allocation as of the first semester of the year as state agencies move to implement their priority programs.

Latest data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed that it has issued P5.3 trillion of the 2024 budget as of end-June.

This represents 91.8 percent of the national budget allocated for the year. This is also higher than the 89.9 percent recorded in end-June 2023.

Based on data, the DBM released a total of P3.73 trillion under the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA). This is 93.1 percent of the total P4.01 trillion financing.

Under the 2024 GAA, the DBM said it has distributed 97.7 percent or P3.42 trillion of the P3.5 trillion for departments.

In terms of special purpose funds, releases rose to 61.2 percent which means that P310.67 billion has been handed out from the P507.48 billion allocation.

On the other hand, automatic appropriations are already at 78.9 percent or about P1.39 trillion of the P1.76 trillion aggregate funding.

The government released more funds for interest payments, which is now at P321.59 billion or 48 percent of the P670.47 billion total funding for 2024.

The DBM also freed up the entire P65.79 billion in retirement and life insurance premiums (RLIP) of state workers as early as January and added some P792.36 million in extra funds as of end-June.

Earlier this year, the DBM has fully released allocation for the national tax allotment (P871.38 billion), block grants (P70.51 billion), tax expenditures (P14.5 billion) and pensions of former presidents or their widows (P480,000).

Last month, the DBM did not issue additional releases to the special account in the general fund, which remained at 97.9 percent or P35.72 billion of the P36.48 billion allocation.

Similarly, the DBM did not disburse extra funds for net lending as it is still at P7.18 billion, which is 25 percent of the P28.7 billion earmarked for the year.

Meanwhile, the DBM recorded P175.02 billion in other releases as of June, 79 percent of which at P138.55 billion went to unprogrammed appropriations.

Unprogrammed appropriations provide standby authority to incur additional agency obligations for priority programs or projects when revenue collection exceeds targets or when additional grants or foreign funds are generated.

Of the unprogrammed funds, P105.66 billion was earmarked to support the foreign-assisted projects of the Departments of Agriculture, Finance, Health, Public Works and Highways, Social Welfare and Development, Labor and Employment and Transportation.

Another P10.77 billion served as the government counterpart of foreign-assisted projects of the DPWH. There was also a P10.16 billion that served as budgetary support to state-run firms, particularly the National Food Authority and the Light Rail Transit Authority.

Some P6 billion was released to the DPWH for the maintenance, repair and rehabilitation of infrastructure facilities of national roads, P2.84 billion for its Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges project and P1.68 billion for its right-of-way payments.

The remaining P1.44 billion was for the National Economic and Development Authority’s infrastructure assistance.