THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said 62.6% of the 2026 national budget had been released by the end of January.
According to the Status of Allotment Releases report, the DBM disbursed P4.25 trillion out of the P6.793-trillion budget for the year, leaving P2.54 trillion undistributed.
The release rate was behind the 64.9% pace of January 2025.
Of the total released, P2.759 trillion went to government agencies, a category that posted a disbursement rate of 74.9%.
Meanwhile, P121.918 billion was released to Special Purpose Funds and P1.37 trillion went to automatic appropriations.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) received only 12.1% or P63.92 billion of its P529.595 billion allocation as of last month, likely reflecting the spending safeguards set in after last year’s infrastructure corruption scandal.
The Special Purpose Fund release rate was 16.9% or P121.92 billion.
Automatic appropriations releases totaled P1.37 trillion, including P82.19 billion for government agencies’ retirement and life insurance premiums, P1.19 trillion for the National Tax Allotment, and P93.98 billion for the Block Grant. — Aaron Michael C. Sy
