P403 B allotted for infra in 2014

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is proposing about P403 billion for infrastructure projects in 2014 to boost the country’s competitiveness, spur investments, create jobs and improve the economy.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said they are also proposing P607 billion for infrastructure spending in 2015 and P834 billion in 2016.

He said the budget increase would result in a five percent infrastructure spending to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio and increase revenue effort to 17.1 percent by 2016.

“That is what’s being proposed to President Aquino. We hope he will approve this because it is what the investors want, the gap that must have a solution for them to come in,” Abad told The STAR.

The Philippines is reported to be lagging behind its neighbors in terms of infrastructure funding.

Abad said the funding would not just cover the projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) but also infrastructure subsidy for government-owned and controlled corporations and infrastructure transfer for local government units.

Abad said the government had embarked on an infrastructure rationalization plan, which streamlines government processes to fast-track the implementation of infrastructure projects.

“We are accelerating our infrastructure spending and adjusting procedures to ensure timely implementation of infrastructure projects and to improve the absorptive capacity of government agencies,” he said.

Absorptive capacity refers to the capability of government agencies to spend allocated funds on time.

He said another reform measure is the adoption of the advance procurement system, which would allow line agencies to start procuring goods and services needed for infrastructure projects scheduled for next year.

He said payment processes would also be streamlined to help government agencies settle their obligations to contractors and suppliers within a shorter period of time.

Abad said the President instructed the DPWH to take over the supervision of infrastructure projects of other government agencies, such as health facilities under the Department of Health, to ensure faster completion.

“There is a huge room for increased infrastructure spending, and we want to maximize it,” he said.

The DBM had reported that infrastructure spending rose by 35.6 percent or P104.6 billion from January to May this year. The amount was equivalent to 2.6 percent of the estimated GDP for the period.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee is looking at a budget of P2.268 trillion for next year, but Abad said the final figure has yet to be determined since Cabinet secretaries must “refine outputs and validate” numbers.

The President grilled Cabinet members on the proposed 2014 budget during a meeting that lasted for almost 11 hours on Monday.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the President asked “very detailed and specific questions” about the proposals of each department.