Infrastructure and other capital outlays continued to surge in May, due to roadwork and building construction, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said on Wednesday.
The government disbursed P58.1 billion for infrastructure and other capital outlays in May, growing 25.6 percent from the P46.2 billion posted in the same month last year.
Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said in a media briefing that this was due to the “completed various infrastructure projects such as road concreting, widening, and improvement; construction of bypass or diversion roads and flood control bridges.”
“The repair and rehabilitation of school buildings of the Department of Education, and acquisition of medical equipment and facilities under the Health Facilities Enhancement Program of the Department of Health also contributed to the rise in infrastructure spending,” Mr. Diokno said.
However, this was 11.4 percent lower than the P65.6 billion recorded in April.
In the five months to May, infrastructure and other capital outlays totaled P280.8 billion, a 42.4 percent increase from P197.2 billion in the same period in 2017. The latest figure is also slower than the 47.5 percent expansion rate logged in the January to April period.
Nevertheless, the Budget chief said he was confident in reaching the government’s overall expenditure program targets in the second quarter.
“We are confident that we will hit our Q2 disbursement targets. In fact, actual disbursements for the first quarter exceeded the program so it’s justified to anticipate good results for the second quarter,” he said.
Actual expenditures stood at P782 billion in the first three months of the year, exceeding the P755.8 billion target by about 3 percent.
“We will maintain the momentum,” Mr. Diokno said. “We will spend as what we are authorized to spend.”
The DBM said that the government had already spent P553.1 billion, equivalent to 68 percent of the P813.3 billion second quarter expenditure target. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

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