MANILA, Philippines — The government released just 56 percent of its budget in January, starting the year slow in terms of distributing funds allocated for national and local agencies.
In a report, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said it issued last month 56.1 percent, or P2.82 trillion, of the record P5.02 trillion budget for 2022.
Compared to a year earlier, the DBM released a higher 58.3 percent, or P2.63 trillion, of the P4.51 trillion allocation under the 2021 budget.
The agency has distributed 74.2 percent or P2.47 trillion of the 2022 General Appropriations Act (GAA) worth P3.34 trillion. By allotment, it has transferred P2.39 trillion of the P2.88 trillion for national agencies, but has depleted only P90.17 billion of the P457.32 billion in special purpose funds.
For automatic appropriations, the DBM has released all of the P60.02 billion in retirement and life insurance premiums of state workers. It has also issued an additional P314,000 to cover the benefits of new hires at the Philippine Science High School System.
On the other hand, the DBM has yet to release any amount from the P512.59 billion for interest payments, as well as the P28.7 billion for net lending.
The agency has given out 90 percent (P432,000) of the P480,000 in pension for former presidents or their widows and has used up 41.06 percent (P17.07 billion) of the P41.07 billion in special account in the general fund.
Further, the DBM released just a fourth of the following items: P239.76 billion of the national tax allotment worth P959.04 billion; P16.74 billion of the block grant amounting to P66.96 billion; and P3.7 billion of the tax expenditure fund totaling P14.5 billion.
The DBM has also recorded P4.15 billion in other releases as of January. The bulk of that amount or P3.44 billion was issued for programs and projects covered by the 2021 GAA.
Last December President Duterte signed Republic Act 11640 extending the validity of the 2021 GAA until Dec. 31. The law provides government agencies an extension of one year to use up their prior appropriations, or they will be returned to the Bureau of the Treasury if left unspent or undisbursed.
Likewise, the DBM issued P705.66 million in other automatic appropriations, most of which were deployed for the military’s modernization program.
The government faces the third year of the pandemic with a P5.02 trillion war chest, the highest in history, as it looks to expand the economy by seven to nine percent in 2022.