DBM releases 90 percent of 2025 budget as of April

MANILA, Philippines — The government has released nearly 90 percent of the record P6.326 trillion budget this year as state agencies move to implement their respective projects.

Latest data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed it has issued  P5.66 trillion out of the 2025 budget as of end-April, representing 89.5 percent of the total allocation for the year.

This figure, it said, is higher than the 86 percent in budget releases in the same period last year.

Data showed that the DBM released P3.72 trillion under the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) or  88.1 percent of the total P4.22 trillion financing.

Under the 2025 GAA, the DBM said it has distributed 93.2 percent or P3.44 trillion of the P3.69 trillion for departments.

In terms of special purpose funds, releases are now at 52.6 percent as P278.32 billion was handed out from the P529.6 billion allocation.

On the other hand, automatic appropriations are at 89.9 percent or P1.89 trillion of the P2.11 trillion aggregate funding.

Broken down, the government finally released in April the allocation for net lending at P21.53 billion or 75 percent of the total P28.7 billion. 

The DBM also increased the releases for interest payments, now at 75 percent or P636.02 billion out of the total P848 billion. 

Last month, the DBM likewise completed the releases for the tax expenditure fund at P14.5 billion.

Even before April, the agency released the entire P1.03 trillion for the national tax allotment, the full P83.42 billion for the block grant, the complete P480,000 allocation for pension of former presidents or their widows, as well as the whole P27.35 billion in the special account in the general fund.

The DBM also freed up the entire P68.55 billion in retirement and life insurance premiums of state workers as early as January and added some P7.22 billion in extra funds last month.

Further, the DBM recorded P52.18 billion in other releases as of April, 68 percent or P35.66 billion of which went to other automatic appropriations.

There was also P7.68 billion released for unprogrammed appropriations, which provide standby authority to incur additional agency obligations for priority programs or projects when revenue collection exceeds targets or when additional grants or foreign funds are generated.

Bulk of the unprogrammed appropriations worth P6.27 billion was earmarked to the National Food Authority as a form of budgetary support.

The remaining P1.41 billion was allocated to support the foreign-assisted projects of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Department of Health, Department of Transportation and Philippine Competition Commission.