Infra spending picks up in September after months of weakness
MANILA, Philippines — Government infrastructure and other capital outlays rose in September, making a rebound after the delayed approval of the national budget and election ban on public works disrupted state spending earlier this year.
In a report released Thursday, the Department of Budget and Management said infrastructure spending and other capital outlays surged 53.9% to P100.3 billion in September from P65.2 billion a year ago. The latest figure was also 69% higher than P59.3 billion disbursed in August.
The DBM said the growth was attributed to the full and partial completion of projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways during the month, as well as purchase of new military equipment and construction of the new Supreme Court building.
From January to September, government spending on infrastructure and other capital outlays stood at P546.3 billion, 8.1% below the P594.5 billion that the state had hoped to disburse for these items in nine months.
Total state spending amounted to P415.1 billion in September, up 39% from P298.6 billion recorded in the same month last year. Year-to-date, disbursements reached P2.6 trillion, 2.1% short of the nine-month program.
“The government has broken through the effects of the delayed passage of the FY 2019 national budget and the election ban on infrastructure spending which weighed down on economic growth during the first half of the fiscal year,” the DBM said.
“Following this latest development, the DBM is optimistic that the national government will be able to meet its catch-up spending program before the end of the fiscal year in support of the administration’s growth targets,” it added.
The Philippine economy expanded 5.5% in the second quarter, weaker than 5.6% recorded in the preceding three months after the delayed approval of the 2019 budget sapped state spending.
Socioeconomic Planning chief Ernesto Pernia said the economy would have to grow by an average of 6.4% in the second half to hit the low-end of the government’s 6%-7% target for this year.
The state’s economic managers vowed to speed up the execution of delayed projects, adding they were working on a “carefully crafted and bold expenditure catch-up plan to enable us to hit a GDP growth rate of above 6% this year.”
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