THE national government’s budget use slowed down in the first two months compared to the same period a year earlier, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.
The overall budget utilization rate was 64% at the end of February, down from 79% posted in the same period last year. In January the usage rate was 33%.
A total of P324.09 billion of the P507.48-billion authorized was spent during the two months, leaving some P183.38 billion unspent.
The usage rate is based on the Notice of Cash Allocation (NCA) — a disbursement authority issued by the DBM to government agencies, allowing them to withdraw funds from the Bureau of the Treasury to settle their spending requirements in contracted projects.
DBM Undersecretary Laura B. Pascua, meanwhile, said that the end-February figures may reflect some payments that will be settled later in the year.
“We requested agencies to give us additional data on their APs (accounts payable), but to use their extra NCAs to settle their APs first,” she said in a mobile phone message yesterday.
“We can expect APs to be settled mostly in March and April,” added Ms. Pascua.
The Commission on Elections’ NCA utilization rate was the highest among all agencies at 90%, as the 2019 midterm elections draw near.
It left P293.48 million unused of the P2.95 billion in authorized funds.
This was followed by the Office of the Vice-President with a 79% utilization rate, leaving P22.3 million unused of the P106.2 million.
The Department of Tourism, meanwhile, turned in a performance of 78%, leaving P148.15 million unspent of the P678.47 million authorized.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development had the lowest budget use in the first two months of the year at 26%, leaving P17.97 billion unspent of the P24.22 billion total for NCAs.
Agencies have until the end of the quarter to fully utilize their budget allotments.
The DBM shifted to a cash-based appropriation scheme in 2017, which limits all payments for contractual obligations within a fiscal year. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
