Gov’t infra spending up 43% in January

MANILA, Philippines - The government reported an accelerated spending for infrastructure and capital in January, rising 43.1 percent to P16.4 billion, the Department of Budget and Management said.

This, together with improved spending on agency maintenance and operations, pushed up total disbursements for the month to P157.9 billion. The amount is P15.6 billion or 11 percent higher than the P142.3 billion disbursements made in January 2012.

“Already, we’re seeing a remarkable improvement in our expenditure performance, with infrastructure and capital outlay investments leading the way. We’re also intent on expanding the capabilities of our departments and agencies, beginning with increased spending for their banner socio-economic programs,” Budget and Management Secretary Florencio B. Abad said.

Maintenance and Other Operating Expenditures (MOOE) climbed by 48.9 percent or P9.8 billion, due largely to the frontloading of cash grants for beneficiaries of the conditional cash transfer program.

Abad noted that key budget reform measures helped improve the government’s disbursement performance as early as January.

“The one-year validity of appropriations and the disaggregation of lump-sum funds pushed department and agencies to implement their programs and projects earlier and at a quicker pace. We also directed departments to bid out their projects short of award in the latter part of 2012, so they could hit the ground running as early as the first working day of the year,” Abad said.

Personnel disbursements also grew to P40.8 billion in January, posting a 13.4 percent or P4.8-billion increase year-on-year. This was due to the implementation of the last tranche of the Salary Standardization Law III (SSL III), as well as higher claims for retirement gratuity and terminal leave benefits.