THE budget utilization rate of government agencies slumped to 42.2 percent in January, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
This was glaringly lower than its 78-percent spending rate in the same period last year.
No agencies achieved a 100-percent utilization rate, the DBM said.
Data from the 2026 Notices of Cash Allocation (NCAs) report showed that the national government, local governments and state-owned corporations have used P136.3 billion of the P322.7 billion of total NCAs issued by the DBM by the end of January.
NCAs allow government agencies to access funds from the Bureau of Treasury for their respective expenditure requirements.
Government departments have utilized P132.9 billion, or 62.7 percent, of their allotted funds, leaving about P79.2 billion unused from their total P212.03 billion allocation. The rate was lower than the 70 percent in the same period last year.
The Commission on Elections recorded the highest utilization rate at 97.6 percent, using P359.86 million of P68.77 million in NCAs.
Second was the Commission on Audit, which used 95.1 percent of its P1.07-billion allocation.
Among executive offices, the Department of Foreign Affairs posted a high utilization rate of 90.9 percent, followed by the Department of Tourism with 89.5 percent.
In contrast, several agencies had very low utilization rates, reflecting either slower program rollout or timing issues in disbursement.
The Department of Labor and Employment used only P1.0 billion or 20.2 percent of its P4.95 billion NCAs.
The Office of the Ombudsman availed of P154.6 million or 31.6 percent of P488.6 million, and the Judiciary P1.71 billion or 31.9 percent of its P5.37-billion allocation.
Meanwhile, the Marcos administration has spent its entire programmed 2025 national budget — which ballooned from the P6.326 trillion to P6.486 trillion as of end-December, with P160.59 billion in unprogrammed appropriations.
The DBM reported disbursing 97.7 percent or P3.59 trillion of the allocated P3.68 trillion for government departments in the 2025 General Appropriations Act.
For special purpose funds, releases were at 93.6 percent, totaling P495.6 billion of the total P529.6 billion.
The Development Budget Coordination Committee has set a P6.43-trillion disbursement goal for this year, up from 2025’s P6.005 trillion and equivalent to 21.1 percent of gross domestic product.
