Budget release slows in July as new government adjusts

MANILA, Philippines — The release of notices of cash allocation (NCAs) in July slightly slowed as the government transitioned under a new leadership.

Latest data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed that NCA releases in July declined 8.72 percent to P406.27 billion, from P445.07 billion in the same period last year.

Nonetheless, the utilization rate for NCAs during the month still improved to 71 percent, from just 58 percent in July 2021.
The month of July was the first month in office of the Marcos administration and its predecessor had only started to transition various government operations.

For the seven-month period, however, budget releases were higher by 2.47 percent to P2.44 trillion, from P2.38 trillion in 2021.

Utilization rate for the January to July period also improved to 94 percent from 89 percent.

Amid the transition, most agencies in July recorded below 70 percent utilization rate. The highest was at 97 percent utilized by the Commission on Elections.

But year-to-date, most agencies have recorded above 80 percent utilization rate.

In July, about 67 percent of NCA releases were secured by line departments at P272.11 billion. The remaining 33 percent or P134.16 billion was allocated to government-owned and controlled corporations and local government units.

Of the total P406.27 billion NCAs in July, the government utilized P290.25 billion while P116.02 billion was unused during the month.

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.

As of end-July, DBM data showed that agencies that posted above 90 percent utilization of their NCAs include the Office of the Vice President and the Departments of Agrarian Reform, Education, Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Foreign Affairs, Health, Interior and Local Government, Justice, National Defense, Public Works and Highways, Science and Technology, Trade and Industry as well as Transportation.

Also included are the Office of the Press Secretary, the judiciary, Civil Service Commission, Commission on Audit, Office of the Ombudsman, the Commission on Human Rights and state universities and colleges.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology recorded the lowest utilization rate at 64 percent as of end-July.
The Office of the President and the Department of Labor and Employment also posted below 80 percent utilization rate.