OVER half of the 2026 national budget has been released in the first month of the year, authorities said.
Data from the Department of Budget and Management‘s Status of Allotment Releases, as of end-January, showed that P4.25 trillion of the country‘s P6.793-trillion budget has been disbursed.
This accounts for 62.6 percent of the annual budget, down from January 2025’s 64.9 percent disbursement rate. Approximately P2.54 trillion remained undistributed as of end January, DBM said.
Of the total funds disbursed, P2.8 trillion, or 74.9 percent of the P3.68 trillion adjusted program, went to government agencies and departments.
Special Purpose funds got P121.92 billion, while Automatic Appropriation releases were P1.37 trillion. These constitute 16.9 percent and 57.3 percent of the adjusted program budget of 719.47 billion and P2.39 trillion, respectively.
The Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) set a P6.43 trillion disbursement goal for this year, which is 21.1 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 7.2 percent growth from 2025’s P6.005 trillion.
Government spending has declined in the last semester of 2025 following a massive corruption scandal in infrastructure projects.
The Philippine Statistics Authority said government dropped 3.7 percent in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025 from 5.8 percent in the previous quarter. In particular, capital formation continued to contract by 10.9 percent in Q4, from -2.8 percent in the previous quarter. It also contracted to 2.1 percent in 2025 from the 7.7-percent growth in 2024.
Budget Secretary Rolando Toledo earlier said that the 2026 national budget has no ghost projects, ensuring that infrastructure programs will proceed without delays or disruptions.
The government aims to hit an infrastructure spending target of 4.3 percent of GDP, or P1.3 trillion based on the General Appropriations Act.
