OVER half of the 2026 national budget has been released as of February, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
Data from the agency‘s Status of Allotment Releases showed that P4.31 trillion of the P6.793-trillion budget for this year‘s General Appropriations Act has been disbursed.
This accounts for 63.5 percent of the annual budget, down from February 2025’s 67.0-percent disbursement rate. Some P2.48 trillion has yet to be released as of end February, DBM said.
Of the total funds disbursed, P2.8 trillion, or 75.2 percent of the P3.68-trillion adjusted program, went to government agencies and departments.
Special Purpose funds got P141.9 billion, while Automatic Appropriation releases were P1.4 trillion. These constitute 19.7 percent and 58.0 percent of the adjusted program budget of P719.4 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 had declined in the last semester of 2025 following a massive corruption scandal in infrastructure projects.
The Philippine Statistics Authority said public expenditure 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 declined by 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 which had plagued the Department of Public Works and Highways in recent years. Toledo assured that infrastructure programs will proceed without delays or disruptions.
The government is aiming for an infrastructure spending target of 4.3 percent of GDP, or P1.3 trillion based on the General Appropriations Act.
