Budget releases improve in 9-month period

MANILA, Philippines — The release of notices of cash allocation (NCAs) improved in the nine-month period following the record P5.02-trillion budget this year.

Latest data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed that NCA releases as of end-September increased 5.27 percent to P3.11 trillion from P2.96 trillion in the same period last year.

NCAs are disbursement orders by the DBM to government banks servicing the release of funds to agencies. State agencies are expected to use the NCAs to pay for the cash requirements of their programs and projects.

This allowed the utilization rate for NCAs to improve to 98 percent from 95 percent in January to September 2021.

For the third quarter alone, budget releases were higher by 5.71 percent to P1.08 trillion from P1.02 trillion in 2021.

Most agencies, as of the end of the third quarter, already recorded above 90 percent utilization rate.

Agencies with 100 percent utilization rate were the departments of Foreign Affairs, Health, Interior and Local Government, National Defense, Transportation, the Judiciary, Civil Service Commission, Commission on Audit, Office of the Ombudsman, and the Commission on Human Rights.

As of end-September, nearly 70 percent of NCA releases were secured by line departments at P2.15 trillion. The remaining 30 percent or P965.26 billion was allocated to government-owned and controlled corporations and local government units.

Of the total P3.11 trillion NCAs in end-September, the government utilized P3.06 trillion while P52.15 billion was unused during the period.

A higher utilization ratio indicates greater capacity of agencies to implement their programs and projects.

As of end-September, DBM data showed that agencies that posted above 90 percent utilization of their NCAs include the departments of Agrarian Reform, Agriculture, Education, Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Finance, Human Settlements and Urban Development, Justice, Public Works and Highways, Science and Technology, Social Welfare and Development, Trade and Industry, and the National Economic and Development Authority.

Also included are Congress, Office of the Vice President, Office of the Press Secretary, and state universities and colleges.

On the other hand, the Department of Information and Communications Technology recorded the lowest utilization rate at 67 percent as of end-September, followed by the Office of the President with 73 percent.