Infra spending hits P37.4 B in Nov

Government spending on infrastructure grew in November last year as concerned agencies continued to implement road and construction projects in the country, data from the Department of Budget and Management ( DBM) showed.

Capital outlays reached P37.4 billion for the month, 37.5 percent higher than the P27.2 billion recorded in the same period in 2015. The bulk of capital outlays went to actual infrastructure projects at P30.4 billion, 49.3 percent higher from the previous year’s infrastructure spending.

The remaining P7 billion was transferred to local government units, also for the same purpose.

As of end-November, the DBM data showed the government has spent 80.5 percent of its total budget for capital outlays. This corresponds to P528 billion, up 40.8 percent

from P375 billion in the same period in 2015.

Actual infrastructure disbursements, alone, reached P426.3 billion during the January to November period, an increase of 46.3 percent from the same period in 2015.

The DBM said infrastructure spending continued to be a steady source of growth of government disbursements from January to November last year.

“This is attributed to the projects implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways for both regular maintenance, upgrading of national roads and convergence programs,” the DBM said.

Aside from this, the DBM said disbursement for the modernization program of the Department of National Defense and Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the capital outlays for hospitals, schools and other facilities, also contributed to the upswing.

Meanwhile, the DBM report also showed total government spending reached almost P2.27 trillion as of end-November last year, 13.7 percent higher than the previous year’s level.

Allotment releases, on the other hand, amounted to P2.84 billion or 94.6 percent of the P3.002 trillion budget for 2016, the DBM said.

“Given the spending behavior of agencies to accelerate implementation before the closing of books, this could further boost the disbursements in December to surpass the 8.8 percent year- on- year growth recorded in 2015,” the agency said.