Gov't spending up by 15.9%

MANILA, Philippines - Government expenditures soared by 15.9 percent to P183 billion in January from last year's P157.9 billion, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) announced on Thursday.

Expenditures for infrastructure and other capital outlay jumped by 45.1 percent from P16.4 billion in 2013 to P23.8 billion this year.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said the spike in government spending was due to the disbursements related to reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts on areas hit by calamities last year.

“With new budget reforms in place, expenditures hit the ground running to post a strong start for government spending in 2014. These reforms— including the GAA (General Appropriations Act)-as-Release Document policy— helped spur faster disbursements for key programs, including those for post-calamity reconstruction and rehabilitation projects. What’s particularly notable is that we were able to ramp up expenditures to levels that would have been expected of election season, and we’re definitely a good way off from that," he said.

Abad added that the  75-percent expansion of the budget deficit translates to the government's commitment to speed-up spending at the start of the year. 

"The front-loading of expenditures in the first semester also fits very well with our goal of sustaining the country’s growth trajectory this year," he said.

He added that 86 percent of the allotments for national government agencies and departments under the 2014 GAA have already been released through the GAA-as-Release Document policy.

“The impact of budget reform on our spending performance cannot be emphasized enough. By aiming for swifter and more efficient fund releases, agencies can move quickly in obligating their allocations. What’s so important about this is that fast disbursements will naturally give way to the prompt delivery of public goods and services. Our aim is to meet the public’s expectations of our governance agenda, where transformative and efficient leadership can directly benefit the people,” he added.