DBM halves cash allocations to state firms in October

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has slashed its issuance of notices of cash allocations (NCAs) by more than half in October to force state agencies to spend previously released funds and raise their utilization with two months left in the year.

The DBM said it cut October NCAs by more than 55 percent to P395.13 billion, from P879.81 billion a year ago.

Of the amount, national and local agencies posted a utilization of 59 percent at P233.84 billion, improving from the 26 percent rate recorded during the same period in 2020.

Based on records from the DBM, over 81 percent of the October NCAs at P320.91 billion were given to departments on the national level. The other 19 percent at P74.22 billion were deployed to local governments and government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs).

On the other hand, NCAs released in the 10 months to October dipped by nearly seven percent to P3.35 trillion, from P3.6 trillion a year ago. With less cash on hand, the government increased its utilization to 91 percent, from 77 percent, on an annual basis.

Local governments, which require as much budget as they can take to enforce programs on the ground, have used up almost all of their P742.92 billion worth of NCAs as of end-October.

The Commission on Audit registered a 99 percent utilization of its P10.37 billion in NCAs, while the Joint Legislative-Executive Councils listed 98 percent for its P3.18 million.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government and Civil Service Commission exhausted 97 percent of their NCAs worth P232.39 billion and P1.42 billion, respectively.

On the other hand, the Department of Information and Communications Technology has spent only 54 percent of its P9.19 billion in NCAs as of end-October. The Department of Energy came in as second worst in utilizing NCAs at 73 percent of P1.62 billion.

A consistent worst spender too, the Office of the President posted a 74 percent utilization of its P7.22 billion in NCAs. Other executive offices recorded a similar rate for their NCAs amounting to P51.48 billion, according to the DBM.

Upon receiving the NCAs through the modified disbursement scheme and government servicing banks, state agencies, including localities and GOCCs, are mandated to use them to pay for the cash requirements of their programs and projects.

An NCA can only be utilized through cash disbursements, or checks and advice to debit account issued to creditors and payees, and outstanding checks, or checks released but have yet to be encashed by the recipient.