THE DEPARTMENT of Budget and Management (DBM) has released 96% of the 2018 budget to government agencies and local government units as of Oct. 25, outpacing the rate of release from the equivalent period in 2017.
Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said that the DBM has released P2.220 trillion of the P3.767-trillion budget so far this year, with the 96% release rate improving on the 90.1% from a year earlier.
Allotment releases are issued by the DBM to enable agencies to incur obligations to finance the delivery of public services.
“We are in the fourth quarter of the year so we will secure the swift release of funds as authorized by the General Appropriations Act (GAA)… we have maintained the quick yet prudent pace of budget releases,” Mr. Diokno said in a briefing on Wednesday.
Mr. Diokno said the major releases in October include P34 billion to the Department of Public Works and Highways for the implementation of the Basic Education Facilities Program, the P1.1-billion subsidy to the Land Bank of the Philippines for the public utility vehicle modernization program, and P6.7 billion for pension differential arrears of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Amounts tapped from Special Purpose Funds (SPFs), or lump sump funds for specific programs and projects that have not been identified in the budget preparation phase, have totaled P397.1 billion, or 80% of the SPFs in the 2018 budget.
“Most releases have come from the Budgetary Support to Government Corporations, the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund, the Pension and Gratuity Fund (PGF), and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRMF),” Mr. Diokno said.
Some P965.4 billion, or 98% of the Automatic Appropriations has also been released as of Oct. 25. The P522.7-billion Internal Revenue Allotment for local government units has also been fully released.
Other Automatic Appropriations include interest payments, retirement and life insurance premiums of government personnel. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
