THE government has already obligated P1.38 trillion of the P3.002-trillion national budget for 2016 as of end-August, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said on Sunday.
The total amount of notices of cash allocation (NCAs) released by the DBM from January to August 2016 already totaled P1.38 trillion.
Of this amount, a total of P1.26 trillion worth of NCAs has already been used or actually spent by the government for various obligations.
Of the total amount of NCAs already issued by the DBM, actual cash of P116.27 billion remain in the accounts of the various government offices and have yet to be spent, although these have already been obligated to pay for various government activities.
Despite the government’s vow to end underspending, which only help stunt the country’s economic expansion in the recent past, the pace of government spending in July and August was slower than during the first half of 2016, which was the last six months in office of former President Benigno Aquino III.
In July this year the government’s utilization ratio of NCAs was only 78 percent, as the government used only P155.86 billion in NCAs of the total P200.15 billion issued during the month.
In August the government’s utilization ratio slightly went up to 83 percent, as the government was able to use P139.17 billion of the total P167.78 billion in NCAs issued by the DBM.
The NCA utilization rate issued in the first eight months averaged 92 percent.