State agencies spending their budgets faster

MANILA, Philippines —  The government ramped up its releases of cash allocations as state agencies continued to post higher spending rates as of end-May.

Data from Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed that notices of cash allocation (NCAs) picked up by 11 percent to P1.89 trillion as of end-May from the P1.71 trillion in the same period last year.

Government agencies, on the other, hand recorded a higher utilization rate of 94 percent during the first five months of the year  compared to last year’s  91 percent.

NCAs are disbursement orders by the DBM to government banks servicing the release of funds to agencies. State agencies are expected to use the NCAs to pay for the cash requirements of their programs and projects.

A higher utilization ratio indicates greater capacity of agencies to implement their programs and projects.

More than 70 percent of NCA releases were secured by line departments at P1.41 trillion. The remaining P485.48 billion was directed to other agencies, especially state-run firms and local governments.

By sector, other agencies managed to utilize 99 percent of the allocation, covering   the internal revenue allotment, special shares and other transfers for LGUs.

Line departments, on the other hand, registered a better utilization rate of 92 percent or P1.3 trillion for the NCAs they received as of end-May. Same period last year, the spending rate was only 88 percent.

By departments, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Education (DepEd) still obtained the highest NCAs worth P368.34 billion and P267.94 billion, respectively, in the five-month period.

Data showed that DPWH’s utilization rate remained at 94 percent while DepEd also retained its spending rate at 96 percent.

As of end-May, only the Commission on Human Rights recorded a 100 percent utilization rate.

Other agencies that recorded above 90 percent utilization rate as of May are the departments of Energy, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Health, Human Settlements and Urban Development, Interior and Local Government, Justice, National Defense, Science and Technology, Social Welfare and Development, Tourism and the National Economic and Development Authority.

Also included are the Congress, Commission on Audit, as well as state universities and colleges.

On the other hand, the Commission on Elections registered the worst utilization rate as of May at only 46 percent of its NCAs totaling P5.71 billion out of the P12.46 billion allocation.

The Department of Migrant Workers came in second with a utilization rate of  just 59 percent at P2.82 billion out of P4.77 billion, while the Department of Agriculture came in third with a spending rate of 66 percent.

Last year, the DBM released a record P4.45 trillion worth of NCAs as the government expedited programs and projects that could help the country recover from the pandemic.