DBM releases 91.9% of gov’t agencies’ budget

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has rolled out 91.9 percent of its total budget for respective government agencies as early as January this year to enable faster implementation of projects.

In a statement, the DBM said it has released P898.3 billion of the P977.7 billion reserved for departments’ specific budgets.

DBM Secretary Florencio B. Abad also disclosed that total allotment levels as of January 31, 2013 stood at 62.8 percent or P1.26 trillion of the P2.006-trillion budget for 2013, 39.6 percent higher than the previous budget release levels.

“Departments and agencies now have sufficient budgetary support for the immediate implementation of their programs and projects. With 92 percent of their budgets already released to them, departments can commence their procurement activities in the first quarter and, consequently, speed up project execution ahead of the election ban,” Abad said.

Abad said swift budget releases will allow departments and agencies to comply with the one-year validity policy for all appropriations.

“We began enforcing this measure in 2013 to encourage agencies to jump-start their priority programs and projects and, consequently, ensure the faster provision of goods and services to the public,” he added.

Among all allotment classes, end-January releases for maintenance and other operating expenditures (MOOE) jumped 86.8 percent year-on-year, due largely to the release of the full-year requirement for the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) to local government units (LGUs), amounting to P302.3 billion.

“Previously, LGUs received their IRA shares on a quarterly basis. Because their shares were released comprehensively this year, our local governments can now obligate their budgets well in advance and create more legroom for efficient service delivery to their respective constituents,” Abad said.

The DBM also reported that P330.8 billion under Automatic Appropriations have already been released as of Jan. 31, comprising 43.8 percent of the P755.2 billion programmed for this year.