Infrastructure spending surges in May amid ‘Build, Build, Build’

Infrastructure spending surged by a quarter in May this year on the back of the Duterte administration’s ambitious “Build, Build, Build” program, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said yesterday.

In a briefing, Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said that infrastructure and other capital outlays amounted to R58.1 billion last month, up by 25 percent from R46.2 billion in the same month last year.

“We continue to make strides in the fiscal sector of the economy, and this is confirmed by the spending data,” Diokno said.

“This should translate to better outcomes in the real economy, that is more jobs for our people, improved standards of living, and robust economic activity,” he added.

According to the DBM, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) completed various infrastructure projects in May such as road concreting, widening and improvement.

Construction of bypass or diversion roads and flood control structures; as well as the reconstruction, rehabilitation, and repair of roads and bridges were completed last month by the DPWH.

The repair and rehabilitation of school buildings of the Department of Education (DepEd), and acquisition of medical equipment and facilities under the the Department of Health (DOH) also contributed to the rise in infrastructure spending.

The higher infrastructure spending boosted the government’s total expenditures during the month to reach R292 billion, an increase of 12 percent yearon-year, which sustained the strong performance of disbursements in 2018.

“The growth drivers of spending in May continue to be infrastructure and other capital outlays as well as personnel Services,” Diokno said.

Personnel services, meanwhile, reached R107 billion in May, higher by 20 percent year-on-year due to the release of the mid-year bonus of government employees, higher pay of civilian government employees and higher compensation for military and uniformed personnel.

Higher disbursements in May put government spending for the first five months of the year at R1.325 trillion, higher 25 percent compared with the same period last year.

“We are confident that we will hit our second-quarter disbursement targets,” Diokno said. “In fact, actual disbursements for the first quarter exceeded the program so it’s justified to anticipate good results for the second quarter.”

Under the 2018 Quarterly Fiscal Program sets programmed disbursements in the second quarter of the year at R813.3 billion. Spending for April and May 2018 have reached R553.1 billion so far.