DBM: 78% of budget for ’15 already released

THE DEPARTMENT of Budget and Management yesterday said that more than three-fourths of the P2.606-trillion national budget for public goods and services this year had already been released to government agencies.

“In keeping with the GAA (General Appropriations Act)-as-release-document regime we started last year, the release of a major component of the 2015 budget at the start of the year will ensure greater efficiency in public spending. With the GAA standing as the official budget release document, we’re able to address previous issues in transparency, delays in project implementation, and accountability in the expenditure process,” Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said in a statement.

The DBM on Jan. 5 issued National Budget Circular No. 556, which ordered the continuous implementation of the budget disbursement reforms it had introduced, such as the use of the GAA-as-release document, unified accounts code structure, performance-informed budgeting, and checkless payment system.

The DBM noted that the share of budgetary items released under the comprehensive GAA-as-release document system rose to 78 percent this year, equivalent to P2.037 trillion, from 62 percent in 2014 or P1.408 trillion out of last year’ P2.265-trillion budget.

“The increase in the initial fund release is due to the adoption of the ‘no lump sum policy’ in the GAA and the comprehensive release of budgets in most departments, including the Department of Agriculture’s provision for farm-to-market roads and their national programs for rice, corn, and livestock,” the DBM said.

Using the GAA-as-release document enables funds to be obligated—allowing government agencies to enter into contracts and kick-start the procurement process as early as the first working day of the fiscal year, the DBM explained.

“The goal of the budget’s early release is to give agencies a head start in the procurement process for their projects. But we also plan to aggressively clear spending bottlenecks by working closely with agencies and making sure they make the most of the funds released to them,” Abad said.

Of the P2.037 trillion released to government agencies, the bulk or P1.22 trillion was for agency-specific budgets; P23.55 billion for special purpose funds, and P793.3 billion for other automatic appropriations.

As for the remaining P568.7 billion or 22 percent of the 2015 budget, this will be released later through a special allotment release order (Saro).