BUDGET utilization by government agencies slowed in August amid possible delays in procurement and project implementation, according to data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
The utilization rate stood at 92.7 percent, down from 94.6 percent in July and 93.8 percent a year earlier.
Philippine Institute for Development Studies senior fellow John Paolo Rivera said the decline could reflect delays in procurement, project implementation and the processing of fund releases, as well as differences in the timing of agency spending.
“We need to examine the agency-level data before identifying the main cause,” Rivera said.
He said utilization could improve as projects progress toward the end of the year. However, the priority should be timely and efficient implementation rather than merely accelerating spending to meet targets.
“What matters is whether public funds translate into completed projects, better services and stronger economic activity,” Rivera said.
DBM data on notices of cash allocation (NCAs) showed that the national government, local governments and government-owned or -controlled corporations used P3.36 trillion of the P3.62 trillion released as of end-August.
NCAs issued by the DBM authorize agencies to withdraw funds from the Bureau of the Treasury to cover their expenditure requirements.
Government departments used P2.21 trillion, or 89.6 percent, of their P2.47 trillion in NCAs, leaving P257.63 billion unused. The utilization rate was lower than the 92.2 percent recorded in July and 91.9 percent a year earlier.
No government agency posted a 100-percent utilization rate.
The Office of the President continued to record the lowest rate at 68.4 percent, having used P8.37 billion of its P12.23 billion in NCAs. This left P3.86 billion unused.
Next was the Department of Labor and Employment at 71.6 percent; the Presidential Communications Office, 72.1 percent; the Commission on Elections, 75.8 percent; and the Civil Service Commission, 75.9 percent.
