PH infrastructure spending remained weak in April
MANILA, Philippines – Infrastructure spending remained weak in April, extending its prolonged slump and lagging behind a broader recovery in the Marcos administration’s overall government disbursements.
Latest data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed infrastructure and other capital outlays plunged 52 percent to P41.5 billion in April from P85.8 billion in the same month last year.
READ: Gov’t eyes 9 flagship infra projects done by end 2026
This marked the 10th straight month of decline following the eruption of the flood control corruption scandal last year.
“The contraction was attributed to the weak spending performance of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) as the implementation of its current year’s budget and completion of prior years’ projects are still ongoing, while the processing of payment claims undergoes stringent validation procedures,” the DBM explained.
The slump also came despite the DPWH being allotted P72.1 billion from the 2026 national budget in April, which the DBM earlier described as the largest allotment released among government agencies during the month.
For the first four months of the year, infrastructure spending fell 45.6 percent to P189.3 billion from P347.6 billion in the same period last year, which the DBM said indicates that the sector has yet to recover as tighter procedures imposed after the scandal have continued to slow project implementation and payments.
“Progress billings for the period were not significant as most projects are being completed, while the turnaround time for processing of payments were extended due to review procedures,” the agency said.
A bright spot, however, was the recovery in overall government spending.
National government disbursements climbed 11.1 percent to P505.4 billion in April from P454.8 billion a year earlier.
The growth was the strongest since March 2025, when spending expanded by 28.6 percent and marked a notable turnaround after months of declines and subdued increases.
According to the DBM, the increase was driven by higher subsidy support to government corporations, transfers to local government units, interest payments and personnel services expenditures. INQ
