Budget use should level up

We all know that our national budget is the lifeblood of all government programs and projects. The faster we disburse and utilize our funds, the faster we can procure and implement our projects

The Department of Budget and Management on Monday urged government agencies to speed up their spending, after the agency recorded a utilization rate of 90 percent from January to April 2023.

“We all know that our national budget is the lifeblood of all government programs and projects. The faster we disburse and utilize our funds, the faster we can procure and implement our projects,” Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said.

“That’s why we want to remind our agencies to avoid underspending, given our very limited fiscal space. Again, we need to instill discipline in our national government agencies or we shall put the money into agencies that can really implement them. We have to remember, as early as the start of the year, we have emphasized that only implementation-ready proposals will be included in the 2024 Budget,” Pangandaman added.

P1.175 T of budget utilized

The latest data on the utilization rate is reflected in the report on the utilization of Notices of Cash Allocations for national government agencies and budgetary support to Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations and Local Government Units as of the end of April 2023, published on the DBM website.

The 90-percent utilization rate is equivalent to P1.175 trillion of NCAs utilized for the said period.

As of 30 April 2023, the DBM has released P2.982 trillion or 94.8 percent of the total agency-specific budget to various national government agencies.

In sum, the DBM has released P4.518 trillion or 85.8 percent of the P5.268 trillion national budget as of 30 April 2023.