State agencies collectively received 73 percent of the P2-trillion 2013 national budget as of April, as the government ramped up public spending to maintain the economy’s robust growth.
The Department of Budget and Management reported that, from January to April, allotment releases to government agencies already amounted to P1.46 trillion, equivalent to 73 percent of the P2.006-trillion national budget for 2013.
The DBM said the rate by which funds were released in the first four months of the year was faster than that of 2012. In the same period last year, fund releases to government agencies were equivalent to 70 percent of the national budget, the DBM said.
Also, it said that government agencies have already disbursed more than a third of the funds released to them in the first four months of the year. Disbursements by line agencies reached P584 billion during the period, up by 12.9 percent from the P517.13 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Of the disbursements, those for infrastructure projects accounted for P75.2 billion, rising by nearly 45 percent from P52 billion in the same period last year.
The quick pace of fund releases will continue as government agencies are encouraged to immediately disburse funds for their respective projects and programs, the DBM said.
The increase in public spending is considered to be a key strategy of the government to sustain the country’s growth in the face of a weak global economy.
Public spending is said to have helped drive the economy’s encouraging growth this year. The National Statistical Coordination Board earlier reported that the Philippine economy grew year-on-year by 7.8 percent in the first quarter, registering the fastest growth rate in Asia, and outpacing even that of China’s 7.7 percent.
The NSCB said the growth drivers were government spending, private-sector investments, and household spending.
The government expects the economy to grow between 6 and 7 percent this year, after it expanded 6.6 percent last year.